Broken Assassin
by BirdSpell
Summary: No emotions. No remorse. No exceptions. That was the only creed he'd ever had. But now... These people... Why was everything suddenly so complicated?
1. This Is My Duty

This Is My Duty (Why Fight It?)

_"I knew what my fate was to be, and I embraced it. I ran towards it. Because it was the only way for things to begin changing, for events to be set in motion."  
>-Nehemia<br>Crown of Midnight_

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"You have your orders."

"Yes, my lord."

"You have a plan."

"Yes, my lord."

"And no worries?"

"None, my lord."

King Ivan of Siarus giggled childishly. "Then go, my dear assassin. Go and kill Prince Alfred."

The slender boy bowed once more, dark eyes glittering with the closest thing to emotion they ever showed. "Yes, Ivan-sama."

The Royal Assassin turned and left, as graceful as ever. He had duties to perform.

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Yao sighed. His duties were hard enough on a normal night, but when the kings of Dangeld ordered a banquet to celebrate their sons' nineteenth birthdays, it got a lot more complicated. Bad enough he was Crown Prince Alfred's bodyguard, but now he'd have to keep the girls away, guard Alfred, and keep Prince Matthew from sneaking off with his not-so-secret boyfriend; Gilbert, the Royal Huntsman. Even one of those would be hard enough, but he had to juggle all three!

To be fair, he didn't really have to keep Matthew and Gilbert from sneaking off. He was Alfred's bodyguard, not Matthew's human chastity belt. But King Francis had pulled him discreetly aside earlier and said that it would better if King Arthur was kept in the dark about their… activities. And a king's discreet suggestion translated to 'do it or else'. So he had to handle everything. On his own.

The twenty three year old sighed again. He just wanted to curl up in his room with _The Complete History of the Six Kingdoms of Eria_ and do nothing but research for a few hours. As for why he was researching the six kingdoms of Eria… well, the Lost Kingdom interested him. As it did everyone.

But never mind that, he had a job to do. A job the others around him were making very difficult.

"So… why am I here, again? I didn't even want to be in this country…"

"Play nice, Emmi!" Prince Alfred clapped a hand down on the younger boy's shoulder. The Ice Prince glared at him, effectively ignoring the way his knees nearly buckled under the weight.

"It's _Emil_. If you call me Emmi _one more time_-"

Yao coughed. "Ah, my lord, perhaps you shouldn't finish that sentence with a large collection of highly strung guards around~aru?"

Prince Emil of Fornirdivec sighed, blowing his famous silvery hair out of his eyes. "Fine. But there's a _reason_ they call me the Ice Prince, y'know."

Gilbert chuckled, leaning against Yao's shoulder. "Lots of royalty here today, huh? Toni said he might stop by at some point over the next few weeks. Bring that boy toy of his."

Yao groaned. "Toni as in… King Antonio of Sapin? Aiyah, as if there wasn't enough to do… And I doubt referring to Lord Lovino as King Antonio's _boy toy _is good for your health."

Prince Matthew smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm sure we can figure out a way to make it easier. I know, Gilbert and I could go get out of your hair-"

"-And into each other's' pants," Emil muttered. Yao rolled his eyes.

"That boy is too observant for his own good~aru. No, you two are staying here. I promised your father I'd keep an eye on you."

"Which one?" the younger prince of Dangeld questioned.

"King Francis. Gilbert, help me with these streamers."

The Huntsman looked at him pleadingly, but was met only with impassive amber eyes. He sighed, accepting the streamers from the older man. "I hate banquets."

"You love banquets, Gil," Matthew murmured.

"I hate preparing for banquets," the nineteen year old amended. Yao rolled his eyes.

"Hurry up! We're expecting the Royal Ambassador of Sideldemat later today, and if Gilbert's right and King Antonio's coming…"

"My brothers might show up too," Emil mentioned casually. "My parents will be too busy."

"And you only thought to mention this now?! Aiyah, this is not in my job description."

"What, babysitting bratty teenagers?" Gilbert muttered. Yao restrained a snicker.

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_Just two more hours…_

Yao pinched the bridge of his nose. This little party was causing so many issues, it wasn't even funny. Already he'd had to rake Gilbert over the coals a couple times to keep him away from the prince, the girls were going nuts, Prince Emil was—luckily—distracted by the newly arrived Ambassador of Sideldemat, Sadiq…

And then there was that. The sense that someone was watching. That if he turned around there'd be someone there, but there wasn't. He'd checked. "I'm getting paranoid…"

Then there was a scream. A very familiar scream.

"Alfred!"

The bodyguard sprinted off down the hall, cursing himself for believing there was no threat.

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The prince was weak.

The Assassin smirked coldly behind the mask concealing his face, eyes gleaming as he focused on his prey. Getting into the palace had been easy. Some might say amusingly so. The guards had been _so_ confident in their own abilities… It had been child's play to someone like him.

And he could almost _taste_ the prince's fear in the air. Some 'hero' he was. Such a coward.

The Assassin drew a dagger from his belt, raising it, ready to throw-

Someone barreled into him from behind, knocking him into the wall with enough force to yank the air from his lungs and leave him gasping on the floor. So undignified. The Assassin frowned, pulling himself upright, steadying himself until he could breathe again. He scooped up the knife from where it had landed, turning to face the new threat.

The man's amber eyes burned towards the slender Assassin who threatened the prince. "Run, my lord!" The boy listened as the prince sprinted down the hallway. Damn. Tracking him down would be irritating. He would take it out on this newcomer who'd interfered with his hunt.

"Surrender, and you will not be harmed~aru!"

The Assassin smirked again. Please. If he surrendered he would be executed for attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince of Dangeld. Instead of speaking, he leapt forward, flickering left, right, knocking the man's legs out from under him, running his sword through his opponent's heart-

What?

The sword froze in place, pressed against the guard's chest. No matter how much the Assassin struggled, he couldn't move it forward, couldn't kill this troublesome guard… He frowned. This had never happened before, never, he was the _best_, and no one could defeat him-

And yet.

He couldn't kill this guard. Couldn't move his sword and _end it._ How curious. He leaned forward until the lips carved on his mask touched the man's ear and spoke, forcing his voice rougher, deeper.

"This is only a short reprieve. That prince _will_ die."

Then the Royal Assassin of Siarus turned and ran, leaping out the window he'd entered through and vanishing in a heartbeat.

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Yao frowned.

He could still feel the man's—boy's?—weight against him, the way the sword in his left hand had touched his chest, so light, yet so deadly. He had no doubt the would-be assassin could have killed him and gone after the prince in a second. And yet he hadn't. The bodyguard frowned in confusion.

Then the yelling started.

"Yao!"

"Hmm? What is it, Gilbert?"

The Huntsman panted for a moment, out of breath from sprinting down the hall. "Prince Alfred's manservant. Old Gaius."

"What about him~aru?"

"He's dead. Stabbed through the heart. A quick death, Birdie said. Instant."

Yao nodded, absorbing this latest disaster- and disregarding Gilbert's affectionate pet name for Prince Matthew. "Most likely killed by the assassin."

"Assassin?!"

"Yes, he came after Prince Alfred. I intervened, and he ran."

"What an exciting first day in this country!"

Both men spun around to see Lord Sadiq, Royal Ambassador of Sideldemat, standing behind them, the annoying brat- sorry, Prince Emil, leaning against the wall nearby.

"My lords, perhaps you should return to your chambers~aru?"

Both foreign nobles shook their heads. "This is the most interesting thing that's happened since I got here," Emil offered by way of explanation. Sadiq simply smiled, readjusting the mask that covered his eyes.

Yao sighed. This would be a long evening.

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"Nope. No. Na. Too old. Too ugly."

"My lord, you have to pick a new manservant eventually…"

"Why?" Alfred whined. "I don't want one. Nobody could beat Gaius, anyway."

Matthew pursed his lips. "What about… him?"

Prince and bodyguard both turned in the direction the younger twin indicated. There stood a slender young man, little more than a boy, with raven hair and eyes as deep and gleaming as the sunlit ocean, yet dark as night at the same time, darkened further by his pale skin. He was… _exquisite. _There was no other word for it.

Alfred nodded quietly. "He'll do."

Yao gestured for the boy to step forward. He did so, eyes glancing between the twin princes and the stern-looking bodyguard. Said guard chuckled softly. "Don't be nervous~aru. What's your name? How old are you?"

"I-I'm eighteen," the boy murmured.

"And your name?"

Those dark eyes flicked up to rest on Yao's face, and the guard found himself entranced, drawn in by the intoxicating mixture of light and darkness within.

"My name is Kiku." 

**Ah, Bitchy Emil. Why are you so fun to write? Also, did I overdo the bitchiness? If so, I apologize, but I think we can all agree Emmi—sorry Emil, please don't kill me—can be a massive bitch when he wants to be. Also, a seven page chapter? Now **_**that**_** is what I call a landmark!**

**Hmmm, what else did I want to say…? Oh, yeah! How about a little contest? The rules are simple: if you get a question right, you can ask for a oneshot involving any character mentioned in this chapter, with the exceptions of Gaius and Sadiq. Gaius because he isn't designed to have a character in this, and Sadiq because I'm not comfortable writing him yet. Give me a few more chapters. Only the first person to answer gets a oneshot, and only one oneshot per person no matter how many you get right (unless specifically said otherwise), so don't answer multiple questions. That's not fair to everyone else. So, here are the questions!**

**One: Where did the names for the different kingdoms—Dangeld, Siarus, Sideldemat, Sapin and Fornirdivec—come from? (Please only answer for one kingdom!)**

**Two: How many Hetalia characters appeared in this chapter? An extra oneshot for the first person who tells me who they all are (human names (for those that are stated) **_**and**_** country names) even if you've already answered another question! (Hint: they aren't all referred to by name.)**

**I'll put up any winners—and what question they answered—in next week's chapter, and I'll be working on the oneshots in between, but only once chapters for this are done. Oh, and if you answer a question but get it wrong, next week you can try again or try a different question, but I don't want to risk someone answering multiple questions correctly, so only try one each time I update. If you get a question right… well, you can try for a second oneshot, if you want. That's all for now. Good luck~!**

**-Bird**


	2. Honor Requires It

Honor Requires It (So I Must Obey)

**Hey guys~! Agh, I meant to have this up yesterday… But for fuck's sake, my iPod can be such a bitch. Notes, which is where I write all my stories, glitched out, so I lost the contest results, which I'd only just written, so I still remembered them, what little I had of this chapter, which was shit, so I'm kinda glad I got the chance to rewrite it, and my *plans*. All the plans I had for this, poof. On the bright side, though, I got to add a lot more shit to them, so now, depending what people think of this one, I've got three more stories in the works for this AU. So that's a plus. But then it happened again yesterday. I had to do a complete restore of everything, which is why this wasn't up earlier. But now I'm using this new app called Notemaster which seems to be working great so far.**

**So, for the contest, the winners so far are Dalasport, who guessed that Dangeld was an anagram of England, and mimi-chan and aliling-chan, who guessed that Siarus was an anagram of Russia, so keep an eye out for those oneshots. Keep guessing, you guys!**

_"But that look ain't you. It's not who you are."  
>-James Kidd<br>Assassin's Creed: Black Flag_

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Kiku learned fast.

As Yao watched, the slender manservant picked his way through the piles of clothes to place the dish of food on the prince's bedside table, not even flinching as Alfred's pet eagle screeched softly at him. The boy tugged open the curtains and whistled sharply, forcing Alfred to shoot up in bed and throw his hands over his ears. "I'm up, I'm up!"

Kiku bowed quietly. "Good morning, my lord."

"Ah, Kiku! Good to see ya this morning! Where were you yesterday, anyway?"

The boy blinked. Yao did as well. He'd told the prince repeatedly that the day before was his new manservant's day off. Kiku shook his head. "…It was my day off, my lord."

Yao stepped forward, coughing softly. Kiku turned around, those mesmerizing dark eyes widening in surprise and… fear? But he calmed just as quickly, bowing low. The bodyguard gently reached forward to stop him. "You don't bow to me, Kiku~aru. Only to the royal family and lords."

"Y-you're not?"

Yao's amber eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Gods, no! I'm just Prince Alfred's bodyguard! Being a lord would be nice though…" he mused, resting a hand on his chin.

Alfred laughed, sitting up. (Kiku, Yao noted, blushed and turned away when it became clear the prince wasn't wearing a shirt.) "You're a knight, isn't that enough?"

"A-a _knight?!_" Kiku squeaked, turning to look at Yao. The older man nodded, humming thoughtfully.

"Yes~aru. I started training about… oh, sixteen years ago now?"

The manservant looked up at him with something similar to awe. "Sir Yao…" he mused. "It… It suits you." He glanced down, blushing slightly. Yao chuckled.

"You're so sweet~aru."

Kiku smiled shyly. Alfred then ruined the moment by laughing loudly. "Okay you two, get out for a minute so I can get dressed!"

The two of them wandered out of the room, leaning against the wall outside, facing each other. Yao absently undid the tie holding his long hair in place and retied it, glancing over at Kiku thoughtfully. "So, where are you from~aru?"

The boy glanced up, seemingly startled by the question. "O-oh, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Yao frowned, hesitantly reaching forward to rest a hand on the servant's shoulder. He flinched away from the contact for a heartbeat, then settled down again. "I-I'm just a servant, right?"

"Of course it matters! I… want to know more about you~aru."

"Oh." The word was little more than a whisper. "I'm from Siarus."

Yao nodded. "How about I tell you a secret?"

Kiku tilted his head to the side curiously. "What sort of secret?"

Yao tsked cheerily. "Ah ah ah! You have to promise not to tell~aru!"

The boy slid over to stand beside the bodyguard, eyes gleaming oddly in the faint light coming through the window. "I promise, I promise!"

Yao leaned forward to rest his lips against the servant's ear. "I'm not actually from Dangeld~aru." He pulled back, waiting to see Kiku's reaction.

The younger man frowned. "That's it?"

Yao chuckled. "You'll have to figure out the rest on your own~!"

"Ah, you two!" a new voice cut in. "Mind telling me where Prince Alfred is?"

They both jumped, turning around to face the new arrival. Sadiq nodded politely enough, raising an eyebrow. Yao felt himself blushing as he realized that they'd been standing so close together that, had he just leaned forward… He stepped away, muttering an apology to no one in particular as he bowed, Kiku mimicking the gesture beside him. "Oh, yes~aru. He's in his chambers through here."

The Ambassador grinned. "Ah, good. I wanted to talk to him, since rumor has it that King Antonio of Sapin is planning to visit over the next week or so. I want to have some fun while he's here, so I need to get the business stuff out of the way." He waved cheerfully and stepped forward, knocking on the door. Alfred's muffled 'come in' was just audible through the heavy door, and the older man stepped through. Yao turned back to Kiku, only to see the smaller boy frowning uncertainly at the now-closed door.

"Kiku~aru?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

The manservant's eyes shifted away. "Oh, just… what's it like, being a knight and all?"

Was he blushing? Huh. Yao hummed lightly, gesturing for the boy to sit and flopping down beside him. "Well, I mainly work here as Prince Alfred's bodyguard, but if there's a war I have to fight."

"I hope that doesn't happen…" Yao shot a quick look at the boy. He was looking at the floor, hands twisting uncertainly in his lap.

"I doubt it will~aru. There was a pretty long war between King Arthur and King Francis' families that went on for over a hundred years, but their marriage fixed that. The only other long war was against Fornirdivec, but they just signed a treaty a few months ago. That's why Prince Emil's here, actually. But it was kind of a tragedy, because one of the nobles witnessing the signing was found dead that night. Stabbed in his sleep~aru. They still don't know who did it."

Kiku nodded. "But… Emil's the youngest prince, right? Doesn't he have two older brothers?"

"Prince Mathias and Prince Lukas, right. But—and you can't tell anyone I told you this—the reason Prince Emil was chosen to come here is because…" Yao leaned closer, allowing his tied-back hair to fall between the two of them and the door. "…if the Kings of Fornirdivec try anything, threatening the life of the youngest prince is an effective way of stopping them."

"But he's only a child! I mean-"

Yao quickly pressed a hand over Kiku's mouth. "Sshh! No one can know you know about this! Even I'm not supposed to know!"

The manservant's eyes widened in something akin to fear, and he let out a soft breath as Yao pulled his hand away. "Okay. No one will find out. I promise."

Just then, the door flew open. The two of them pulled away from each other and tried very hard to not look like they were discussing state secrets. Alfred grinned at them. "Come on you two! Let's eat!"

Kiku blushed. "My lord, it's not proper for us to eat with you and Lord Sadiq-"

"No buts! C'mon, that's an order!"

The two shared a helpless glance as the Crown Prince of Dangeld dragged them into the room. He pushed them down into chairs, passing out helpings of the toasted bread and scrambled eggs he was having for breakfast that morning. Yao glanced over at Kiku, who was looking uncomfortably down at his meal. Alfred sat, chuckling loudly as he knocked a bit of toast to the floor. "Oops! Oh well!"

The other three laughed as well, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Sadiq made to stand. "Alfred, as kind as it was for you to offer for me to eat with you, I still need to talk to the Kings, so-"

Alfred waved a hand. "No, stay! I'll just-"

"My lord!" Kiku interrupted, jumping to his feet. He was staring at a rat sitting on the floor, eating the piece of toast the prince had dropped. As the four of them watched, it began to writhe in obvious pain, then fell still. Dead. Kiku's eyes widened, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. "Poison," he gasped.

Yao knelt, carefully spearing the remnants of the toast on his fork. He sniffed it carefully. There was no peculiar scent. That, combined with the reaction, left only one possibility. "Bloodbane. A very painful way to die. Thank the gods none of us ate any. We'd be dead before anyone could get help, unless one of you happens to have the antidote on you." He looked up. "Kiku, could you fetch the Kings for me?"

The manservant nodded and ran from the room, visibly shaking. Yao felt sorry for the boy. He was just a manservant, he couldn't have been expecting _this_…

Sadiq stood. "Perhaps I should warn Prince Emil about this. After all, if someone made an attempt on Prince Alfred's life…"

Yao nodded. "If you wouldn't mind informing Prince Matthew as well? Don't tell them everything," he added as the Ambassador made to leave. "Just ask them to meet the prince and I here."

The older man nodded and left.

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The royals' reactions were just as Kiku had anticipated. The Kings were shocked, Matthew simply nodded, and Emil… Well. He did an impressive job at containing his glee at the possibility of an assassin after the Crown Prince. Vengeful little brat. Not that Kiku could blame him. Being forced to work for some strange King away from your home and family and everyone you know just in case your parents decide to try anything… It would be enough to make anyone angry.

Kiku forced a shaky smile at Yao when the bodyguard glanced at him. Soon… soon he'd have the man wrapped around his finger, and killing the prince would get about fifty times easier. He turned away from the proceedings, frowning.

This was his mission. His alone. Some of the other Royal Assassins would stoop so low as to use lower class assassins to complete an assignment, but not Kiku. No, he did everything on his own. He'd sent out the message to all assassins, especially the other Royal Assassins (except Dangeld's, of course); The Crown Prince of Dangeld is _mine_. It had been signed simply 'Siarus', but that said very clearly that the Royal Assassin of Siarus had claimed Alfred's life. They knew the rules. Once an assassin, _especially_ a Royal one, had made a claim, you didn't interfere unless that assassin specifically asked for your help. Someone was messing with the rules.

Lower assassins knew better than to fuck with Royal ones; they were the best of the best, and attempting to steal a target from one meant death at best. Often a slow and painful one. And the Royal Assassin of Dangeld wouldn't be trying to kill their own prince. And the other Royal Assassins knew better than to attempt to kill someone he'd made a claim to, right? The last time someone had tried that, Sideldemat had gotten the gift of one near-unrecognizable Assassin's head. He wondered absently if they'd replaced him yet.

So who was trying to steal his kill?

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Emil frowned.

That look in the manservant's eyes… he knew it. The dark glitter of someone thinking of dangerous things. Forbidden things. He'd seen it in his brothers' eyes countless times during the war, but the servant—whose name he still didn't know, annoyingly—was only a few years older than Emil himself, and this wasn't a war. And he didn't look upset at his master's close call. Almost irritated, in fact. So why…?

Unless…

The Royal Assassins, Emil knew, were hilariously insistent on doing things their way, with no interference. And he'd… intercepted a message meant for his family's Assassin a short while before being sent here. _The Crown Prince of Dangeld is mine._ He hadn't said anything, of course; the prince's death would do nothing but help his family, and possibly get him out of this hellhole and back home. But the message had been from the Royal Assassin of Siarus.

Was it possible that this trembling manservant was the Royal Assassin of the most depraved King in all of Eria? But he had warned the prince of the effect the food had had on the rat, still lying on the floor. If he was trying to kill Alfred, why would he save him?

Emil bit back an amused chuckle. The only reason he could think of was that this was a matter of honor. The Royal Assassin of Siarus, while their face, name, gender and age were unknown, was well known for never accepting help, for completing every mission alone. So if he'd interfered with an assassination plot, assuming the servant was the Royal Assassin…

And bloodbane was a very expensive poison. In order to get it, an assassin would have to have a great deal of money available… say, from a King's coffers.

His glee was hard to contain. Prince Alfred had two Royal Assassins after him, and he didn't even realize it.

**So, a bit more Sadiq in this chapter! How'd I do this time? The way I'm rolling with him is I hope to give him a few more lines each time he appears and see how well I do. And Emil's pretty much figured it out **_**already**_**, smartass that he is. And he's not telling anyone in the hopes that Alfred dies. Ah, what'd I tell you? Little bitch.**

Anyways, for the contest… if you look closely in this chapter you'll see a couple answers for the 'which characters were mentioned in the prologue' part. As for the country names, here's a hint: they're all anagrams. That's all you're getting. Good luck~!

-Bird


	3. Nightmares And Horror Stories

Dreams And Stories (Have No Meaning)

**I apologize in advance for OOCness. Dammit, Sadiq…**

**Sadiq: You were the one who chose to add me into this.**

**Fuck you. I still don't own Hetalia, by the way.**

**Kiku: Thank the gods for that…**

**Hush. It wouldn't be that bad.**

**Kiku: Yes it would.**

**No it wouldn't.**

**Kiku: Yes it would.**

**No it-**

**Kiku: I've read your plans for this story.**

**Ah. Well. Um. Let's just… get to the story, shall we?**

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_"Youth is wasted on the immortal."  
>-Abraham<br>Forever  
><em>  
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"…and so, Puck accidentally enchanted the wrong man!" Yao chuckled, running a hand through his hair. Kiku, perched comfortably on the edge of his bed, lifted a hand to cover his lips as he smiled. Ah, it was a funny story… and while Yao was distracted by the telling, Kiku had a chance to look around the room and hunt for convenient ways to keep the bodyguard from leaving it. When Kiku actually got around to killing Alfred, that was.

The Assassin had to admit, he was enjoying his time here. No one chasing him to go kill someone, no annoying—or terrifying—princesses to deal with, good food, not quite awful company… It wasn't bad. And he could stay as long as he wished, provided he kill Alfred and run at some point. At some point. Perhaps.

Perhaps he wouldn't. Perhaps he'd just… stay here. Forever. That wouldn't be too bad, would it?

The answer to that was yes, undoubtably, if Ivan found out. _Ah, what a dilemma this is._

"Kiku?"

"Hmm?" Kiku looked up, suddenly realizing he'd been frowning. "What is it?"

"You seem… distracted~aru. Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Just thinking."

"About what?" Yao questioned. What was this, an interrogation? Kiku thought fast.

"Well… 'Wearing Athenian clothes' isn't very helpful. Why didn't Oberon give Puck a better description?"

Yao shrugged. "It wouldn't be funny if Puck had got it right. And this is a comedy."

Kiku frowned. "It wasn't very fair to Puck. I mean, they weren't far from Athens, right? So men in Athenian clothes wouldn't be that rare."

Yao chuckled warmly. "It's a _story_, Kiku! Don't take it so seriously!"

"Yes, but-"

"No~aru!" Yao said, playfully knocking Kiku flat against the bed. "Lighten up a bit! Aiyah, you don't have to be so serious all the time!"

"Yao!" Kiku sat up again. "Don't _do_ that! Besides, don't we have to get ready for King Antonio's arrival?"

"Oh, fine~aru," Yao sighed, pouting. "But it wouldn't kill you to have some fun."

"Maybe not, but why risk it?" Kiku smiled faintly.

"Was that a joke~aru?"

"Possibly."

The bodyguard gasped dramatically. "The world is ending! Kiku made a _joke_!"

The Assassin rolled his eyes. "Not. Funny."

Yao just laughed.

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Emil sighed. He didn't want to _be_ in this kingdom, and now he had to help set up for the arrival of a King, and it just wasn't _fair_! Besides, he was a prince—even if he _was_ the youngest—and therefore didn't he outrank… most of the people here?

Of course, he knew he was really here as a hostage. He wasn't an _idiot_, after all, unlike a certain blond haired blue eyed prince he could mention. (Said prince still didn't realize there were Royal Assassins after him. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.) But that didn't make it any better! In fact, as should have been obvious, it made things worse.

At least he _knew_. That was better than thinking he was just a guest, right? After all, if hostilities broke out between Fornirdivec and Dangeld he'd know to… well… run away as fast as he could came to mind.

"Hey, kid. You get roped into this too?"

Emil didn't even look up. "Hey, Pops."

Sadiq leaned against the wall beside the young prince. "This must be a change for you as well, though. I mean, you must have an army of servants to do this sort of thing at your place, right?"

Emil shrugged. "Not really. That's what Mathias is for."

"Isn't he the Crown Prince?"

The prince frowned. "Yeah. So?"

Sadiq chuckled. "You're funny, you know that?"

Emil flushed. No one… _ever_… called him funny. It was like an unspoken law. He wasn't funny. Not in the slightest-

"Cute, too."

"I- What?"

But Sadiq just smiled and walked away, leaving Emil more confused than ever.

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"Their lordships King Antonio and Lord Lovino of Sapin!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Everywhere we go, trumpets and announcements and all sorts of stupid shit. Hey, tomato bastard, just for once can we just travel as ordinary citizens?"

Antonio laughed happily, wrapping an arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Aw, Lovi! We're royalty, you know~!"

"_You're_ royalty. I'm just the consort."

The King pressed a kiss to the other's lips, dancing away before the fiery man could slap him. "And you do it very well."

"You fucking-!"

"_My lords!_"

Both men spun around to face the Kings of Dangeld. Lovino was quietly thankful they'd arrived before he'd done something to the King that not even _he_ would be able to undo. After all, there were limits to how much healing a human body could take at one time.

Ah well. He would've _tried_. And Antonio always said that was the most important thing. As such…

Antonio nudged him. Lovino jumped almost a foot. He flushed. "Don't _do_ that! You _know_ I hate it when people startle me!"

King Francis coughed. "Toni, as much as I enjoy watching you and your love interact, may we return to the matter at hand…?"

"Ah, right! Um, what were we talking about again?"

Francis sighed. "I was suggesting that we have a masquerade ball to celebrate your arrival."

"What's the point of that? No one will know who we are!"

Lovino sighed. He loved Antonio, really, but he could be such an _idiot_. "Well, _that's_ the point, isn't it? So no one will know who we are."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "Exactly. You see, we've had a few issues over the past couple of days, assassination attempts and whatnot, so we decided it would be best if those at the party did not know exactly who was who."

"Assassination attempts?" What? Forgive him for having a healthy sense of self preservation.

"Oh, yes. Someone seems to have something against Alfred."

"Can't blame them," Lovino muttered quietly. The Crown Prince could be a world class dick. And he was extremely annoying.

"What was that, Lovino?" Francis questioned. The younger man glanced away.

"Oh, nothing."

Arthur clapped his hands. "Then the party will take place in three days' time. I'll inform the staff."

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_Three days later…_

Kiku sighed, straightening the ornate mask covering his dark eyes. He smiled as he looked himself over in the mirror. He'd always had a fondness for disguises; especially masks. There was just something about being anonymous that sent little sparks of happiness through his mind. No one could recognize him now unless he wanted them to…

"Ah, nice costume, Kiku!"

The Assassin turned gracefully, bowing neatly to his 'master'. "Thank you, my lord. You look excellent as well."

…Not really. The prince was dressed in a blue tunic that clashed horribly with his bright orange mask. But Alfred was well known for having an… interesting taste in clothes, so…

_Perhaps I should kill him for crimes against fashion._

Was that a crime punishable by death? Kiku doubted it. In any case, the… loud outfit was a far cry from the Assassin's own costume; a dark grey tunic with paler grey leggings and a long dark red cloak that brushed the floor, along with high black riding boots and a fanciful horned mask done in black with gold highlights that covered the upper half of his face, leaving only his lips visible. All in all, it was designed to draw as little attention as possible. Just how he liked it.

"Ah, gentle Puck! What a pretty costume~aru!"

Kiku smiled softly as he turned to Yao, dressed in a black and white outfit reminiscent of a panda. "You remembered?"

"That you said you would go as Puck? Of course I did~aru! What do you think?" The bodyguard struck a pose. He looked rather… fluffy. Kiku snorted internally. Now there was a word he'd never expected to use. But it was the truth. It was… Oh, fuck it. It was _adorable_.

The Assassin clapped softly. "Very nice. You look so… chivalrous."

"Was that sarcasm~aru?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Just checking."

Alfred butted in between the two. "C'mon, or we'll miss it!"

"My lord, the ball is scheduled to last all night-"

The prince cut Kiku off, grabbing him and Yao by the arms. "I wanna see our noble guests arrive so I can figure out who's who!"

The two shared a glance. Kiku sighed.

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On the bright side, the costumes were impressive.

Arthur and Francis had arrived about the same as Alfred and his—unwilling—'friends' did. Arthur was dressed up like a pirate, with a simple black mask to cover his eyes. Francis was wearing something that automatically made Kiku think of roses; a long flowing red tunic done in layers like petals with roses in his hair. His mask was red with green leaf designs around the edges. He was even wearing _perfume_, for gods' sake.

In any case, the five exchanged their pleasantries and settled down to watch.

Matthew and Gilbert came in next. The former was dressed in tan leather that hung around his slender frame like fur. His tan and white mask had delicate deer-like antlers protruding from it. The latter was dressed in forest green with a bow behind his back. His mask was like fallen leaves on a forest floor.

Sadiq came in next. His clothes were long and flowing, with a turban wrapped around his head. His usual white mask was embellished with gold and blue highlights, clearly designed to accentuate his eyes. It was all very overwrought, in Kiku's opinion. Emil followed close behind. His costume was impressive, to say the least. A blue tunic with white leggings, along with the familiar white boots and gloves, with a silver cape hanging to just past his knees. His mask looked like thick ice, sparkling whenever the light hit it. All in all, the outfit gave an impression of the cold and unforgiving nature of winter; a perfect fit, considering the wearer's personality.

Last—but definitely not least—came the stars of the show. Antonio was dressed in sunny yellow that brought to mind happy memories of sunlit days and good company. The robe seemed to shimmer as he moved, showing brief images; a star, a sun, a smiling woman. No image stayed longer than a few seconds. His mask was red as the tomatoes he was said to love, highlighting his brilliant green eyes. And Lovino-

Holy shit.

The fiery man's costume complimented his personality perfectly. He was dressed in a fine reddish orange robe that seemed like firelight. His mask was incredibly ornate, swooping down his cheekbones in a design like inverted fire. But the real glory—the centerpiece of the outfit—was the cape. The fabric itself was a deep red, like the burning heat Kiku knew all too well, but that wasn't the really impressive part.

The cape was on fire.

Flickering tongues that ate their way down the material, glowing so beautifully, and yet, somehow Kiku knew they wouldn't be hot. If he touched them, they wouldn't burn him. It was the deadly beauty of a bonfire, without the danger. And it suited its wearer beautifully. An incredible piece of magic all around.

Antonio wrapped an arm around his consort's waist. "Oh Lovi, you look so pretty~!"

"Don't call me pretty!"

Emil looked away, frowning beneath his icy mask. "Are we going to party or what? Because I need a drink."

Arthur glared at him. "You're underage!"

"I'm royalty. I've been drinking for years."

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Kiku leaned back, balancing the glass of wine in his hand. The party wasn't bad. The guests were boring. The food was decent. The alcohol was amazing. He could feel its effects coursing through his body, sending pleasant tingles along his frame. But he wasn't _that_ drunk. Not yet. Nope, nope, nopitty nopey nope.

Maybe that wasn't… _quite_ true. But he hadn't been able to get drunk in _ages_, and he'd missed the way the alcohol caused him to just… forget. Yup. Forget. Not remember. That was nice. Uh huh.

He'd missed being drunk.

Kiku actually had an impressively high alcohol tolerance. However, five beers, a couple glasses of what had tasted like vodka, and _three full bottles_ of wine would test anyone's limits. When one was trying to get blackout drunk, one made do with what one had.

"Kiku?"

The Assassin glanced up lazily at Yao. "Uh huh~?"

The older man frowned. "Are you drunk~aru?"

"Nope!" Kiku chimed happily. He nearly fell off the couch he was lying on in the process, and frowned. "Well, maybe a little… But I'm not as drunk as Emil~!"

"You saw Emil?"

"Mmmhmmm~ Sadiq dragged him off somewhere. His costume was really pretty, though. I hope it doesn't get damaged…"

Yao sighed. "Maybe you should head upstairs. Get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired!" Kiku giggled. Outright _giggled_. "Why should I go to sleep if I'm not tired?"

"Why indeed… Aiyah, why does this always happen to me? First I had to get Matthew and Gilbert upstairs before they did something foolish in public, then Alfred tried to strip in the main hall, and King Arthur nearly started a brawl, and I think Lovino set fire to the washroom—I don't even know how he accomplished that—and now this, it's just not fair-"

Yao was cut off by Kiku pulling him down to sit beside him on the couch. The—hilariously drunk—Assassin leaned his head against the bodyguard's shoulder, curling up against him with a pleased hum. "Lovi's costume was really pretty too. I liked the fire. Pretty pretty pretty… But kind of scary too. I don't usually like fire. But his was _so_ pretty, and he worked _so hard_ on it…"

"Kiku-"

Kiku sat up, spinning around abruptly so he was perched on Yao's thighs. "Do you think _my_ costume's pretty, Yao~?"

Yao flushed. "W-well, yes, I suppose I do… It's so simple, and that makes it very nice~aru… It looks nice on you."

The Assassin smiled mischievously. "Do you think _I'm_ pretty?

Yao sputtered for a moment. "I-"

"Do you want to fuck me, _Sir Yao_?" Kiku outright _purred_, leaning forward to partially lie on top of the other man. He could feel the bodyguard's body heat and hummed contentedly, happy to just lie there and soak it up.

"I- You- Mischievous little imp~aru! You're drunk… You shouldn't… I shouldn't…"

"I wouldn't mind, y'know…"

And that was all it took for the last of Yao's self-control to fly out the window.

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He was flying.

Beautiful white wings spread out on either side of him as he soared high above the clouds. He was free to do as he pleased, wild and soaring above the clouds, following the indistinct figure in front of him that he somehow knew meant _safety_ and _comfort_.

Then a shadow came. It knocked the one he was following out of the air, sending them falling, tumbling down down down towards the earth. When he tried to follow, the shadow turned to a net that tangled itself around him, clipping his wings and turning them black as night, until just looking at them made him feel sick. Then a new presence, a bright light that he thought could take away the pain and set him free, came towards him. He reached for it with his twisted wings and called to it in his croaky, broken voice, begging it for help, and it came towards him. It would help him, save him-

It pushed him free of the net and watched him, laughing, as he was falling falling _falling_ to join the one that had left what felt like centuries ago, and a scalding _pain_ covered his back and his wings were irreparably broken and he _screamed_ until his voice was gone completely and-

Kiku's eyes snapped open. _Just a dream…_

He hissed in pain as light hit his eyes and his hangover made itself known. Right. And there was the reason why he didn't get drunk anymore.

"Mm…"

The Assassin's eyes widened and he rolled over, revealing the naked form of Yao, the prince's bodyguard, the man he was _supposed_ to be seducing. Kiku's costume was lying on the floor beside the bed. He wasn't wearing anything. _Please tell me we didn't…_

As he moved, a sharp pain shot through his lower body and he swore softly. _We did._

"Oh, _fuck…_"

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**Kiku, ya little shit. What the fuck did I just write…?**

**Ookay, in other news… There isn't really any. Ah yes, Kiku, Royal Assassin and master of the drunken one night stand… Of course he can seduce Yao while drunk. **_**Of-fucking-course**_**.**

**Spamano made an appearance, though! And TurkIce! That's gotta count for something! Am I still doing okay with Sadiq? His character is just… ugh…**

**Also, I apologize for any inaccuracies with the effects of alcohol on Kiku's… entire personality. In explanation, I offer two sentences: **_**I**__**'**__**m fourteen. How the hell should I know what would happen**_**?**

**Eleven pages, though. That's impressive, right?**

**And another addition to the contest, which is kind of making me question my sanity, as I still have two oneshots to write. A oneshot to anyone who can tell me what story Yao was telling at the beginning of the chapter! And that's all for now, I'm tired. And Kiku is looking rather murderous, so I'm gonna run away now.**

**Edit: Sorry, no new chapter yet. Working on it. But Wanderingcourier pointed out a few inaccuracies in the amount Kiku drank in the original version, so I figured I'd fix that while I remembered.**

**See you next time~!**

**-Bird**


	4. Dreams And Stories

Dreams And Stories (Have No Meaning)

**I apologize in advance for OOCness. Dammit, Sadiq…**

**Sadiq: You were the one who chose to add me into this.**

**Fuck you. I still don't own Hetalia, by the way.**

**Kiku: Thank the gods for that…**

**Hush. It wouldn't be that bad.**

**Kiku: Yes it would.**

**No it wouldn't.**

**Kiku: Yes it would.**

**No it-**

**Kiku: I've read your plans for this story.**

**Ah. Well. Um. Let's just… get to the story, shall we?**

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_"Youth is wasted on the immortal."  
>-Abraham<br>Forever  
><em>  
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"…and so, Puck accidentally enchanted the wrong man!" Yao chuckled, running a hand through his hair. Kiku, perched comfortably on the edge of his bed, lifted a hand to cover his lips as he smiled. Ah, it was a funny story… and while Yao was distracted by the telling, Kiku had a chance to look around the room and hunt for convenient ways to keep the bodyguard from leaving it. When Kiku actually got around to killing Alfred, that was.

The Assassin had to admit, he was enjoying his time here. No one chasing him to go kill someone, no annoying—or terrifying—princesses to deal with, good food, not quite awful company… It wasn't bad. And he could stay as long as he wished, provided he kill Alfred and run at some point. At some point. Perhaps.

Perhaps he wouldn't. Perhaps he'd just… stay here. Forever. That wouldn't be too bad, would it?

The answer to that was yes, undoubtably, if Ivan found out. _Ah, what a dilemma this is._

"Kiku?"

"Hmm?" Kiku looked up, suddenly realizing he'd been frowning. "What is it?"

"You seem… distracted~aru. Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Just thinking."

"About what?" Yao questioned. What was this, an interrogation? Kiku thought fast.

"Well… 'Wearing Athenian clothes' isn't very helpful. Why didn't Oberon give Puck a better description?"

Yao shrugged. "It wouldn't be funny if Puck had got it right. And this is a comedy."

Kiku frowned. "It wasn't very fair to Puck. I mean, they weren't far from Athens, right? So men in Athenian clothes wouldn't be that rare."

Yao chuckled warmly. "It's a _story_, Kiku! Don't take it so seriously!"

"Yes, but-"

"No~aru!" Yao said, playfully knocking Kiku flat against the bed. "Lighten up a bit! Aiyah, you don't have to be so serious all the time!"

"Yao!" Kiku sat up again. "Don't _do_ that! Besides, don't we have to get ready for King Antonio's arrival?"

"Oh, fine~aru," Yao sighed, pouting. "But it wouldn't kill you to have some fun."

"Maybe not, but why risk it?" Kiku smiled faintly.

"Was that a joke~aru?"

"Possibly."

The bodyguard gasped dramatically. "The world is ending! Kiku made a _joke_!"

The Assassin rolled his eyes. "Not. Funny."

Yao just laughed.

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Emil sighed. He didn't want to _be_ in this kingdom, and now he had to help set up for the arrival of a King, and it just wasn't _fair_! Besides, he was a prince—even if he _was_ the youngest—and therefore didn't he outrank… most of the people here?

Of course, he knew he was really here as a hostage. He wasn't an _idiot_, after all, unlike a certain blond haired blue eyed prince he could mention. (Said prince still didn't realize there were Royal Assassins after him. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.) But that didn't make it any better! In fact, as should have been obvious, it made things worse.

At least he _knew_. That was better than thinking he was just a guest, right? After all, if hostilities broke out between Fornirdivec and Dangeld he'd know to… well… run away as fast as he could came to mind.

"Hey, kid. You get roped into this too?"

Emil didn't even look up. "Hey, Pops."

Sadiq leaned against the wall beside the young prince. "This must be a change for you as well, though. I mean, you must have an army of servants to do this sort of thing at your place, right?"

Emil shrugged. "Not really. That's what Mathias is for."

"Isn't he the Crown Prince?"

The prince frowned. "Yeah. So?"

Sadiq chuckled. "You're funny, you know that?"

Emil flushed. No one… _ever_… called him funny. It was like an unspoken law. He wasn't funny. Not in the slightest-

"Cute, too."

"I- What?"

But Sadiq just smiled and walked away, leaving Emil more confused than ever.

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"Their lordships King Antonio and Lord Lovino of Sapin!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Everywhere we go, trumpets and announcements and all sorts of stupid shit. Hey, tomato bastard, just for once can we just travel as ordinary citizens?"

Antonio laughed happily, wrapping an arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Aw, Lovi! We're royalty, you know~!"

"_You're_ royalty. I'm just the consort."

The King pressed a kiss to the other's lips, dancing away before the fiery man could slap him. "And you do it very well."

"You fucking-!"

"_My lords!_"

Both men spun around to face the Kings of Dangeld. Lovino was quietly thankful they'd arrived before he'd done something to the King that not even _he_ would be able to undo. After all, there were limits to how much healing a human body could take at one time.

Ah well. He would've _tried_. And Antonio always said that was the most important thing. As such…

Antonio nudged him. Lovino jumped almost a foot. He flushed. "Don't _do_ that! You _know_ I hate it when people startle me!"

King Francis coughed. "Toni, as much as I enjoy watching you and your love interact, may we return to the matter at hand…?"

"Ah, right! Um, what were we talking about again?"

Francis sighed. "I was suggesting that we have a masquerade ball to celebrate your arrival."

"What's the point of that? No one will know who we are!"

Lovino sighed. He loved Antonio, really, but he could be such an _idiot_. "Well, _that's_ the point, isn't it? So no one will know who we are."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "Exactly. You see, we've had a few issues over the past couple of days, assassination attempts and whatnot, so we decided it would be best if those at the party did not know exactly who was who."

"Assassination attempts?" What? Forgive him for having a healthy sense of self preservation.

"Oh, yes. Someone seems to have something against Alfred."

"Can't blame them," Lovino muttered quietly. The Crown Prince could be a world class dick. And he was extremely annoying.

"What was that, Lovino?" Francis questioned. The younger man glanced away.

"Oh, nothing."

Arthur clapped his hands. "Then the party will take place in three days' time. I'll inform the staff."

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_Three days later…_

Kiku sighed, straightening the ornate mask covering his dark eyes. He smiled as he looked himself over in the mirror. He'd always had a fondness for disguises; especially masks. There was just something about being anonymous that sent little sparks of happiness through his mind. No one could recognize him now unless he wanted them to…

"Ah, nice costume, Kiku!"

The Assassin turned gracefully, bowing neatly to his 'master'. "Thank you, my lord. You look excellent as well."

…Not really. The prince was dressed in a blue tunic that clashed horribly with his bright orange mask. But Alfred was well known for having an… interesting taste in clothes, so…

_Perhaps I should kill him for crimes against fashion._

Was that a crime punishable by death? Kiku doubted it. In any case, the… loud outfit was a far cry from the Assassin's own costume; a dark grey tunic with paler grey leggings and a long dark red cloak that brushed the floor, along with high black riding boots and a fanciful horned mask done in black with gold highlights that covered the upper half of his face, leaving only his lips visible. All in all, it was designed to draw as little attention as possible. Just how he liked it.

"Ah, gentle Puck! What a pretty costume~aru!"

Kiku smiled softly as he turned to Yao, dressed in a black and white outfit reminiscent of a panda. "You remembered?"

"That you said you would go as Puck? Of course I did~aru! What do you think?" The bodyguard struck a pose. He looked rather… fluffy. Kiku snorted internally. Now there was a word he'd never expected to use. But it was the truth. It was… Oh, fuck it. It was _adorable_.

The Assassin clapped softly. "Very nice. You look so… chivalrous."

"Was that sarcasm~aru?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Just checking."

Alfred butted in between the two. "C'mon, or we'll miss it!"

"My lord, the ball is scheduled to last all night-"

The prince cut Kiku off, grabbing him and Yao by the arms. "I wanna see our noble guests arrive so I can figure out who's who!"

The two shared a glance. Kiku sighed.

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On the bright side, the costumes were impressive.

Arthur and Francis had arrived about the same as Alfred and his—unwilling—'friends' did. Arthur was dressed up like a pirate, with a simple black mask to cover his eyes. Francis was wearing something that automatically made Kiku think of roses; a long flowing red tunic done in layers like petals with roses in his hair. His mask was red with green leaf designs around the edges. He was even wearing _perfume_, for gods' sake.

In any case, the five exchanged their pleasantries and settled down to watch.

Matthew and Gilbert came in next. The former was dressed in tan leather that hung around his slender frame like fur. His tan and white mask had delicate deer-like antlers protruding from it. The latter was dressed in forest green with a bow behind his back. His mask was like fallen leaves on a forest floor.

Sadiq came in next. His clothes were long and flowing, with a turban wrapped around his head. His usual white mask was embellished with gold and blue highlights, clearly designed to accentuate his eyes. It was all very overwrought, in Kiku's opinion. Emil followed close behind. His costume was impressive, to say the least. A blue tunic with white leggings, along with the familiar white boots and gloves, with a silver cape hanging to just past his knees. His mask looked like thick ice, sparkling whenever the light hit it. All in all, the outfit gave an impression of the cold and unforgiving nature of winter; a perfect fit, considering the wearer's personality.

Last—but definitely not least—came the stars of the show. Antonio was dressed in sunny yellow that brought to mind happy memories of sunlit days and good company. The robe seemed to shimmer as he moved, showing brief images; a star, a sun, a smiling woman. No image stayed longer than a few seconds. His mask was red as the tomatoes he was said to love, highlighting his brilliant green eyes. And Lovino-

Holy shit.

The fiery man's costume complimented his personality perfectly. He was dressed in a fine reddish orange robe that seemed like firelight. His mask was incredibly ornate, swooping down his cheekbones in a design like inverted fire. But the real glory—the centerpiece of the outfit—was the cape. The fabric itself was a deep red, like the burning heat Kiku knew all too well, but that wasn't the really impressive part.

The cape was on fire.

Flickering tongues that ate their way down the material, glowing so beautifully, and yet, somehow Kiku knew they wouldn't be hot. If he touched them, they wouldn't burn him. It was the deadly beauty of a bonfire, without the danger. And it suited its wearer beautifully. An incredible piece of magic all around.

Antonio wrapped an arm around his consort's waist. "Oh Lovi, you look so pretty~!"

"Don't call me pretty!"

Emil looked away, frowning beneath his icy mask. "Are we going to party or what? Because I need a drink."

Arthur glared at him. "You're underage!"

"I'm royalty. I've been drinking for years."

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Kiku leaned back, balancing the glass of wine in his hand. The party wasn't bad. The guests were boring. The food was decent. The alcohol was amazing. He could feel its effects coursing through his body, sending pleasant tingles along his frame. But he wasn't _that_ drunk. Not yet. Nope, nope, nopitty nopey nope.

Maybe that wasn't… _quite_ true. But he hadn't been able to get drunk in _ages_, and he'd missed the way the alcohol caused him to just… forget. Yup. Forget. Not remember. That was nice. Uh huh.

He'd missed being drunk.

Kiku actually had an impressively high alcohol tolerance. However, fifteen beers, a couple bottles of what had tasted like vodka, and _three full bottles_ of wine would test anyone's limits. When one was trying to get blackout drunk, one made do with what one had.

"Kiku?"

The Assassin glanced up lazily at Yao. "Uh huh~?"

The older man frowned. "Are you drunk~aru?"

"Nope!" Kiku chimed happily. He nearly fell off the couch he was lying on in the process, and frowned. "Well, maybe a little… But I'm not as drunk as Emil~!"

"You saw Emil?"

"Mmmhmmm~ Sadiq dragged him off somewhere. His costume was really pretty, though. I hope it doesn't get damaged…"

Yao sighed. "Maybe you should head upstairs. Get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired!" Kiku giggled. Outright _giggled_. "Why should I go to sleep if I'm not tired?"

"Why indeed… Aiyah, why does this always happen to me? First I had to get Matthew and Gilbert upstairs before they did something foolish in public, then Alfred tried to strip in the main hall, and King Arthur nearly started a brawl, and I think Lovino set fire to the washroom—I don't even know how he accomplished that—and now this, it's just not fair-"

Yao was cut off by Kiku pulling him down to sit beside him on the couch. The—hilariously drunk—Assassin leaned his head against the bodyguard's shoulder, curling up against him with a pleased hum. "Lovi's costume was really pretty too. I liked the fire. Pretty pretty pretty… But kind of scary too. I don't usually like fire. But his was _so_ pretty, and he worked _so hard_ on it…"

"Kiku-"

Kiku sat up, spinning around abruptly so he was perched on Yao's thighs. "Do you think _my_ costume's pretty, Yao~?"

Yao flushed. "W-well, yes, I suppose I do… It's so simple, and that makes it very nice~aru… It looks nice on you."

The Assassin smiled mischievously. "Do you think _I'm_ pretty?

Yao sputtered for a moment. "I-"

"Do you want to fuck me, _Sir Yao_?" Kiku outright _purred_, leaning forward to partially lie on top of the other man. He could feel the bodyguard's body heat and hummed contentedly, happy to just lie there and soak it up.

"I- You- Mischievous little imp~aru! You're drunk… You shouldn't… I shouldn't…"

"I wouldn't mind, y'know…"

And that was all it took for the last of Yao's self-control to fly out the window.

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He was flying.

Beautiful white wings spread out on either side of him as he soared high above the clouds. He was free to do as he pleased, wild and soaring above the clouds, following the indistinct figure in front of him that he somehow knew meant _safety_ and _comfort_.

Then a shadow came. It knocked the one he was following out of the air, sending them falling, tumbling down down down towards the earth. When he tried to follow, the shadow turned to a net that tangled itself around him, clipping his wings and turning them black as night, until just looking at them made him feel sick. Then a new presence, a bright light that he thought could take away the pain and set him free, came towards him. He reached for it with his twisted wings and called to it in his croaky, broken voice, begging it for help, and it came towards him. It would help him, save him-

It pushed him free of the net and watched him, laughing, as he was falling falling _falling_ to join the one that had left what felt like centuries ago, and a scalding _pain_ covered his back and his wings were irreparably broken and he _screamed_ until his voice was gone completely and-

Kiku's eyes snapped open. _Just a dream…_

He hissed in pain as light hit his eyes and his hangover made itself known. Right. And there was the reason why he didn't get drunk anymore.

"Mm…"

The Assassin's eyes widened and he rolled over, revealing the naked form of Yao, the prince's bodyguard, the man he was _supposed_ to be seducing. Kiku's costume was lying on the floor beside the bed. He wasn't wearing anything. _Please tell me we didn't…_

As he moved, a sharp pain shot through his lower body and he swore softly. _We did._

"Oh, _fuck…_"

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**Kiku, ya little shit. What the fuck did I just write…?**

**Ookay, in other news… There isn't really any. Ah yes, Kiku, Royal Assassin and master of the drunken one night stand… Of course he can seduce Yao while drunk. **_**Of-fucking-course**_**.**

**Spamano made an appearance, though! And TurkIce! That's gotta count for something! Am I still doing okay with Sadiq? His character is just… ugh…**

**Also, I apologize for any inaccuracies with the effects of alcohol on Kiku's… entire personality. In explanation, I offer two sentences: **_**I**__**'**__**m fourteen. How the hell should I know what would happen**_**?**

**Eleven pages, though. That's impressive, right?**

**And another addition to the contest, which is kind of making me question my sanity, as I still have two oneshots to write. A oneshot to anyone who can tell me what story Yao was telling at the beginning of the chapter! And that's all for now, I'm tired. And Kiku is looking rather murderous, so I'm gonna run away now.**

**See you next time~!**

**-Bird**


	5. Scars

Scars (Tell Unwanted Stories)

**AN: So, that last chapter… Um. Well. I don't even know; that wasn't supposed to happen, but those two… *shakes head* Ah well. And I still don't own Hetalia.**

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_"You know time will always find a way."  
>-Enya<br>Amarantine_

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Yao stretched, humming happily as he remembered the night before. Kiku was probably regretting it by now, though-

The sound of shifting fabrics met the bodyguard's ears and he rolled over, glancing up at the young servant, who was just pulling on his pants, muttering what sounded like curses under his breath. Yao frowned. There were two long black marks on his back; edging a little closer, he could see…

_Scars._

Not just scars, either. Two long scorch marks running perpendicular to each other along his back, from his shoulders to his waist. They were _old_, too. At least three years. Yao hissed in shock, and Kiku spun around, hands rising to cover the marks.

"Kiku, what _happened_ to you, to leave marks like that?"

The boy's eyes widened in something akin to panic. "I- It was- I don't- Nothing! I-it was nothing! I just did something stupid, that's all! My own fault, so-"

"Kiku," Yao interrupted softly. "Please, tell me the truth~aru."

The servant rubbed the back of his head. "I-it was a long time ago… I don't really remember."

Of course he didn't. Well, Yao hadn't really expected anything else… But he'd hoped… Well, you'd think after the night before the boy would be willing to say _something_ on the matter.

While he was contemplating this, Kiku yanked his shirt back on and scooped up his mask from where it lay on a nearby chair, turning to leave. Yao sat up swiftly. "Kiku-"

The boy turned back to him, dark eyes slightly wide and gleaming. Beautiful as ever. "Listen to me, Yao. _This never happened_. It was a mistake; one I can't allow to happen again."

"You didn't enjoy it~aru?"

"I- Well, yes, but… That's not the point! This never happened, okay? You- Me- The two of us, we can't… _do this_. Not… Not yet, at any rate. I was drunk, I wasn't _thinking_, and… It wasn't real, got it?"

Yao stood, grabbing at some clean clothes beside the bed. "If you liked it, why can't we~aru?"

Kiku shook his head, backing up. "It's just… Sex isn't something I can give you right now. I like you, Yao, really, I do. But I… I just can't."

And with that, the servant turned and fled from the room. Yao let out a groan.

"Godsdammit…"

"Trouble in paradise, sir?"

The bodyguard glanced up. It was that guard again; the one he'd sparred with four days ago. His name was… Lizen, if Yao remembered correctly. "What makes you say that~aru?"

"Well, Kiku sprinting down the hall kind of gave it away…"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"He was limping." Lizen grinned. "Did someone get laid last night?"

Yao blushed, which was an answer in itself. "He was drunk!"

"Drunken sex isn't bad…" the guard mused. "I mean, surely you can do _better_, but…"

"Why are you even here? And he's not interested, so butt out~aru!"

Lizen's eyes widened. "Not interested? Oh, no, dear captain. He's _definitely_ interested. Learn to read the signs."

"He said it was a mistake."

"And that is what we call denial. Just don't push for sex until he's ready. Let him decide the pace." The guard winked. "Works every time."

Yao frowned. "But… I don't want to push him into anything…"

Lizen stood, rolling his eyes. "Did you not listen to a word I said? Well, good luck, captain. Firebrand like that, you'll need it." And so saying, he strolled out. Yao sighed.

"He never told me why he was in my room~aru…"

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Lovino slid the door shut, wandering over to the bed and collapsing on it with a sigh. "Looks like the fucking Potato Bastard Two was right."

"Hm?" Antonio glanced up at him, crown askew on his head. "What do you mean?"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Do you not pay attention to him ever?"

"Why pay attention to him when I have you? I mean, you always tell me what I miss… And it's your fault I'm distracted anyway."

"Wh-what the hell do you mean by that, bastard?!"

"Oh, you know what I mean, Lovi~ Seriously though, what did Gilbert say?"

"He said Alfred's bodyguard and manservant were, and I quote, 'Totally in love with each other'. About as much as your dear friends are in love with themselves, based on his description."

"Don't be mean, Lovi," Antonio chided. "It's unbecoming."

"I didn't realize you knew what 'unbecoming' meant."

Antonio leaned forward to caress his consort's cheek. "You're being more difficult than usual. What's wrong?"

The younger man blushed bright red. "Y-you know damn well what," he muttered, embarrassed.

"You look like a tomato."

"I do not!"

_What followed was a very childish exchange that the author cannot be bothered to write out. Suffice it to say, it was lucky no one overheard. Moving on…_

"So," Antonio hummed, "now that that's out of the way, what's really bugging you? Is it about your grandfather?"

Lovino snorted. "Like hell. Feli was always that bastard's favorite. He never had time for me. So why should I care that he's dead?" Ah, coping mechanisms. Insulting his grandfather's memory would do.

Antonio nodded understandingly. "Okay, Lovi. We can talk about that later."

"Th-there's nothing to talk about!"

The older man chuckled. "Whatever you say. Now then, what's really on your mind?"

Lovino shrugged, running a hand through his dark auburn hair. "It's probably nothing, but… I keep sensing powerful magic. Never for more than a few seconds… but I can't help but worry. Flashes that powerful… An untamed gift of that level could easily destroy this palace and everything around for at least three miles."

"You worry too much," Antonio chided, brushing his lover's hair back. "It'll be fine."

Lovino reached up to grab the older man's wrist. "I hope so, Tonio. I hope so."

Antonio smiled and pulled the younger in for a kiss. "My clever little mage. It'll end well as long as you're here."

Lovino simply smiled.

Then punched him.

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_Idiot idiot idiot!_

Kiku punched the nearest tree. Out in the forest, he could be as pissy—for lack of a better word—as he wanted, and no one would know. No one *could* know. Which was why this was such a disaster.

Yao… How could he have let this happen?! He was an _Assassin_, he had a _mission_, this was _not supposed to happen_-

"Had a bit of trouble, did you?"

Kiku spun around. Emil smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, come now, you didn't _really_ think no one would realize? Not that you didn't do an excellent job of hiding it, but pointing out the poison? Really? You and your honor, I swear it'll kill you one day."

The Assassin drew a dagger. "If you know who I am, you know I can kill you within a heartbeat."

"You could. But you won't. I'm not a part of your mission."

"You know. If you told a soul, I'd be executed."

Emil shrugged. "I doubt they'd believe me. They trust you so much; it's actually remarkable. But it doesn't matter. I won't tell them anyway."

Kiku lowered the dagger, just slightly. "Why not? Surely it would benefit you. Maybe they would even let you go home."

The Ice Prince shook his head. "They won't let me go home. In fact, they'd probably 'forget' to guard my room in the hopes you'd kill me instead. But even so, telling them wouldn't hurt me. I'm still not saying anything."

"Why. Not."

The boy's smile was feral. "Because I want them _dead_. If all four of them died, I'd be free to do as I pleased. I could take over this kingdom if I so chose. But I don't want to get my hands dirty. Your mission coincides with my desires, so…"

"I kill the prince, and you don't blow my cover." Kiku nodded. "Sensible. Especially as I have to kill him anyway."

"I thought so. But leave everyone else here out of it, got it? I may hate the royal family of Dangeld, but I don't want anyone else getting involved."

Kiku bristled, ignoring the way the scars on his back stung briefly. "What are you implying?"

"The old manservant? Gaius? Lord Lovino's grandfather? I know you killed him. Then you took his job. Not a hard leap."

The older boy sighed, running a hand through his raven hair. "He interfered. I had to take care of him. As for the job… Well. I took advantage of the opening. I'm nothing if not opportunistic."

"And that little… incident last night with Yao?" Emil chuckled at Kiku's expression. "Don't look at me like that. The entire castle knows; someone around here is a bit of a gossip. And the fact that you're limping everywhere doesn't help. Were you really a virgin?"

"No," Kiku snorted. "What idiot came up with that? And what about you, if I may ask?"

"Nope." Emil shrugged at the Assassin's questioning look. "What? Recreational incest doesn't mean anything."

Kiku shook his head. "I thought I'd gathered false information, but… really? Recreational incest, that's what you do."

"Everyone needs a hobby, and it's better than being the pet Assassin of everyone's favorite evil overlord. Anyways, if I may make a suggestion about your precious mission?"

"Go ahead." Kiku leaned forward, quietly ignoring the comment about Ivan. What? It was pretty much the truth.

Emil smirked. "You've got Yao wrapped around those skinny fingers of yours. So why not push it a little further? You don't have to have sex with him, but let him think you're interested. Then let him think he's in charge. Works every time. If you play your cards right, he'll do anything you say. Hell, you could even enlist some help. Don't tell them the whole story, but… Talk to Lovino or Matthew. Gilbert, Antonio and Francis could help, but don't go directly to them. Those two can get their help without you speaking to our darling Bad Touch Trio."

Kiku hummed. "You're good at this. You sure you're not an Assassin or a Spymaster?"

"Oh, I wish. But no, sadly not. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have plans of my own to attend to."

The Ice Prince chuckled, bowed mockingly, and strolled off in the direction of the palace. Kiku smiled. Now this was unexpected. His dark eyes glimmered briefly with bloody excitement. An ally… The youngest prince of Fornirdivec would bear watching, but this could be very helpful.

And if his forming suspicions were correct, it wouldn't hurt to have the boy on his side.

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Matthew absently signed his name on the letter and put it in the envelope. He handed the sealed parchment over to Sadiq and leaned back. "Why did you want me to sign this and not my brother, or my fathers?"

The Ambassador grinned sheepishly. "King Arthur won't approve, and if I tell King Francis or Crown Prince Alfred it'll be all over the kingdom by next week."

The younger prince frowned. "So you expect that I'll stay quiet. Fair enough. But you don't need the permission of the royal family to court Prince Emil; at least, not _this_ royal family. And you know that. So why are you really here?"

Sadiq sighed, fiddling with something up his sleeve. "I didn't know who else would listen to me. Listen, Matthew- can I call you Matthew?" At Matthew's uncertain nod, the older man continued. "That poison, bloodbane? The one that was used in our food the other day? Well, it's the same poison that was used to kill that noble at the Dangeld-Fornirdivec treaty signing. And I have it on good authority that the Royal Assassin of Siarus claimed that man's life."

Matthew stared at him. "You don't mean-"

"Yes. King Ivan has sent his Assassin after your brother."

"But- But, I- the Royal Spymaster surely would have found evidence by now if Siarus was involved in all this…"

Sadiq shrugged. "Do you know how long this Assassin has gone without being caught? They could be anyone. How should I know?"

"And you're telling just me this because…?"

The Ambassador straightened his mask. "I want your permission to hunt down this person. They killed the previous Royal Assassin of Sideldemat. He was a friend, though we weren't as close as we could have been. The guy was quiet, but friendly, and he didn't deserve to die like that. I want to kill the Royal Assassin of Siarus… but I need permission."

Matthew couldn't stop the smirk forming on his lips. "Permission granted, Ambassador."

Outside the door, Kiku frowned. _Well, shit._

Why did this have to be so complicated?

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**Ooh, shit just got real~!**

**So, to recap, Kiku's kicking himself for having sex with Yao, Emil's got some sort of plot in the making, little bitch that he is, Sadiq and Matthew have made a deal which I'm sure will cause issues later, Lovino is freaking out about magic and Antonio really doesn't give a shit because Lovi can do anything, apparently, and the guard from two chapters ago has reappeared! And he has a name!**

**Lezin's kinda supposed to be a mix of France's pervertedness and Hungary's yaoi fangirling. It… didn't go quite as I expected. These characters, they're all so cruel to me…**

**Lezin: That would be because you're a bitch to them.**

**I invented you, keep your mouth shut or I'll kill you off. Anyways, I really need to stop writing these things right before I go to bed. So yeah. It'll probably be, like, four in the afternoon when I post this, but I'm writing it at ten PM, so I'm done for the day. Sorry about the short chapter, though.**

**See you next time~!**

**-Bird**


	6. False Romance

False Romance (Is Much More Trouble Than It's Worth)

**And the complete what-the-fuck-am-I-doing that is this story continues! In this chapter… absolutely nothing plot worthy happens, and Kiku is having issues with the BTT. Who doesn't have issues with the BTT? And shenanigans occur. Also, so many POV jumps it isn't even funny anymore. Anywho…**

**Lovino: I'm just going to get this over with. The bitch author doesn't own Hetalia, and thank God for that.**

**Lovi! Well, you heard him. So don't sue me.**

**Lovino: Please, sue her. For something.**

**Wow, he said please. He must really hate me. Although, I gotta agree with Shakespeare on this one…**

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_"First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."  
>-William Shakespeare<em>

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_Why did I agree to do this?_

It seemed Lovino was just as difficult as people said he was. Kiku had been waiting at least an hour for a chance to talk to him, and still nothing! The Assassin sighed, about to turn around and give in; find his own way to do this.

"Okay, _bastardo_, what is it?"

Kiku spun around. "Oh! My lord! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there-"

Lovino waved a hand in the air in a surprisingly graceful manner. "It doesn't matter. I assume you wanted to talk to me." The lord sat, resting his feet on the table. "So talk."

Kiku wrung his hands together. "Well, you see, er… I've… I've heard that King Antonio… and King Francis and Gilbert… are good with romantic things…" He trailed off.

Lovino looked at him almost sympathetically. "Relationship issues? I can relate to that. And I assume you're talking to me because you're too scared to go to the Bad Touch Trio, or whatever it is they're calling themselves now?"

"Ah… yes."

Lovino sighed. "So you want me to talk to Antonio for you. Why should I?"

Kiku frowned. "There's… no reason in particular why you should… It would just be nice."

"_Nice_ isn't really my thing," the other muttered irritably. "Besides, if I tell Antonio he'll insist we help, and I hate this place. Why should I do something that will make me stay longer?"

"But-"

"Your issues with that bodyguard are not my concern," the lord snapped. "I don't care, and you can go to Antonio yourself if it's that important. I've got work to do."

Kiku recognized this for the clear dismissal it was and left quickly, shutting the door behind him.

"Asshole."

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Matthew sighed. "So many people want to see me today… What is it, Kiku?"

The manservant glanced at him nervously. "Well, Your Highness, I already talked to Lord Lovino and he wouldn't help me so-"

"Slow down," the prince interrupted. First the meeting with Sadiq and now this… "If you talked to Lovino as well, I can only assume this has to do with the Bad Touch Trio… Why don't you go directly to them?"

"Well," Kiku said uncertainly, "I didn't want to actually have to explain to them that I need their help, so I thought, since you and Gilbert are… you know… maybe you could… I don't know, talk to him?"

Matthew frowned. "Why exactly do you need their help?"

"Um…" The manservant blushed. "Yao… and I… we… I'm sure you already know. But… um, that is…"

"Spit it out already," Matthew snapped. It had been a long day and he really just wanted to curl up with Gilbert and sleep.

"_IkindofbrokeitoffwithhimandIwanttofixitbutIdon'tknowwhattodo!_" The servant looked up at his prince pleadingly. "Please, if you could just talk to Gilbert-"

Said prince sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "Alright, I'll talk to him. Eventually. I'll let you know what his answer is."

Kiku bowed. "Thank you, my lord!" He left quickly, almost skipping. Matthew couldn't help the sleepy smile that spread across his face.

A pair of arms curled around his waist. "You look happy."

Matthew leaned his head back and accepted his boyfriend's lips. "That was Kiku, just now."

"Should I be worried?"

The prince laughed. "No, of course not! He's having trouble with his and Yao's relationship, and he wanted to ask your precious Bad Touch Trio for help."

Gilbert grinned. "That's because we're awesome! So what did he want us to do?"

Matthew shrugged, yawning. "He didn't seem to know himself. I guess it's up to you, eh? But don't go _too_ overboard."

The white haired man nodded, frowning. "Got it. But you've been working yourself too hard lately, what with this, and that meeting with Sadiq, and that assassination issue… You need to sleep, Birdie."

"No, I'm-" He paused to yawn again. "I'm fine."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and lifted the prince into his arms. "Don't pull that shit with me. You're gonna sleep even if I have to tie you to the bed."

"Gil!"

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Antonio leaned forward. "So this Kiku wants us to help him get an in with Alfred's bodyguard?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Apparently. From what Bi- Matthew said, he was pretty desperate."

_And Lovi didn't tell me this why?_

Francis chuckled. "So we must now reunite the star-crossed lovers, whatever the cost!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "They're not star-crossed lovers; they're a manservant and a bodyguard who are head-over-heels with each other. This won't be difficult. We just make the kid look pretty and get them talking. Maybe get Kiku drunk again."

Francis gave him a Look. "Drunken sex is not _l'amour_."

"Why not?"

"Sober sex counts," Antonio piped up. Francis gave him a Look too.

"You think offering someone a _job_ is romantic."

"Your point?"

The other two sighed. "Anyway," Francis continued, "we have to set the mood correctly. A nice romantic dinner atop the North Tower, perhaps? Or a ride through the forest, followed by a picnic by the Midnight Falls?"

"Oh, _si_! Yao strikes me as the type who'd appreciate nature!"

"Yeah! And you and Lovino can take advantage of the North Tower thing!"

Antonio laughed. Well, he'd be leaving soon anyway; may as well take advantage of the time he had. "That sounds great! So how are we gonna get these two going on a ride together?"

"Easy," Francis laughed. "I send Alfred on a hunting trip, he'll bring those two with him, and he orders them to eat lunch while he hunts. All we have to do is talk him into it!"

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"Sure I'll do it!"

"Told you it would work," Francis muttered. "So, Alfred, you have to take Kiku and Yao out on your hunting trip and tell them to set up the picnic and eat their share. Then you leave to go hunting and we see what happens. Got it?"

"Got it! Don't worry Dad, I'll get this right!"

_Why do I feel like this is going to go horribly wrong?_

Well, it probably _was_… It always did. But it was a good idea!

"So I'll get my stuff together and head out!" Alfred sprinted out of the room, grabbing his bow.

"_Mon Dieu_," Francis sighed.

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Yao frowned at his prince. "So, let me get this straight~aru. You want me and Kiku to come with you on this hunting trip?"

"Well, yeah!"

The bodyguard sighed. "I don't think that's such a good idea~aru…"

_But I promised I'd bring them!_

"As your prince… I… order you to come!"

The other two sighed, but acquiesced- albeit reluctantly. "I suppose we have no choice," Kiku murmured, glancing over at Yao uncertainly. "When do we leave?"

"In five minutes!"

The other two shared a glance. "Five minutes~aru?!"

"Thank you, my lord, for giving us _so_ much time to get ready."

"You're welcome!"

Yao facepalmed. "Sarcasm, my lord. You really should learn about sarcasm~aru."

Alfred wrinkled his nose. "I know about sarcasm! I'm just ignoring it for the sake of the mission!"

Kiku glanced up from where he was going through his stuff in a corner. "Mission, my lord?"

_Shit!_ "Yeah!" Alfred laughed. "You know… the thing… hunting and all!"

"…_Right._ If you say so…"

"I do say so!"

Both his friends shook their heads in unison.

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Out riding… with Kiku… (Alfred too, but he didn't count.)

Yao smiled cheerily. The prince glanced over. "What's up, Yao?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing~aru. I just… remembered something, that's all."

"Okay!" Yao silently thanked the gods for his lord's absentmindedness.

Kiku, however, was not so easily dissuaded. "What memory?"

"Oh, you know…" Yao thought frantically. "Just… the day I got knighted, that's all!"

"Is that so, _Sir_ Yao?"

Oh, that little- He _knew_. The little shit knew exactly what he was thinking about. The bodyguard sighed. "Yes, that _is_ so~aru."

Alfred reined in his horse. "Okay, how about you two set up for lunch and eat your share? You're gonna chase off all the prey!"

_**We're**__ going to chase off the prey?_ Yao nodded, dismounting. Kiku copied him, tugging the lunch they'd brought with them from the back of his saddle. He set it on the ground and got to work hobbling his and Yao's horses with the ease of long practice. Alfred rode away, and Yao began setting up the lunch, trying to think of something to say.

"So… do you ride often~aru?"

"A bit," Kiku murmured distractedly. His horse did not like the idea of a rope being tied around its legs, and the boy was struggling to keep the large stallion calm. "Easy now, Kage. Easy."

_Kage?_ That was an Aetsaian word. Kage… Shadow. Fitting for the coal-black stallion. But how would Kiku have learned that…?

"…Yao?"

The bodyguard glanced down. Kiku had finished with the horses and was just setting up the lunch. Yao blushed and knelt to help him. "Sorry~aru. I was just thinking."

"About your knighthood again?" the boy hummed softly, teasingly. "Because that's a very good excuse."

"I thought so."

Kiku laughed, and Yao smiled, pleased.

"So, _Sir Yao_, I assume that _someone_ set all this up so we'd be forced to talk."

"It wasn't me!"

The manservant smiled, picking up a piece of bread and buttering it. "I know it wasn't you. In fact-"

Yao held up a hand, cutting him off. "Do you hear that~aru?"

Kiku tilted his head to the side as another low growl filled the air. "Wolves!"

Yao stood, drawing his sword. "Stay behind me."

Kiku jumped to his feet as well, pulling a dagger from his belt. He caught Yao's eyes and shrugged. "What? Just because I'm not a soldier doesn't mean I never need to defend myself."

Yao shrugged, turning to face the direction of the growls once more. "Fair enough~aru."

And then the first wolves leapt out, and there was no more time for talk.

It was a big pack; twenty strong at least. The two of them were hard pressed to hold them back. Yao could barely see around the steady stream of fur and teeth and claws. Wolves didn't normally go after humans; these ones were hungry… and desperate. The bodyguard forced himself to immerse himself in the fight, until all he knew was attack and defend. He flung one wolf back-

"Yao, behind you!"

Yao spun. A massive wolf was already leaping at him, far too close to evade, the dark markings revealing it to be an alpha. He lifted his sword, knowing he'd be too slow-

-and suddenly Kiku was in front of him, the wolf's teeth snapping at his chest and throat. The little dagger came up and plunged through the grey animal's heart, and it fell still, dragging Kiku with him. The boy hit the ground with a strangled gasp of pain, making no effort to catch himself.

Yao leapt forward, shoving the dead alpha away in order to lift Kiku onto his lap, moving the shredded shirt aside to get a better look at the wounds. He tore a strip from his own shirt to wipe away the blood.

The servant's chest was a mess of scratches and bite marks. Only one of them looked particularly deep—thank the gods—but there were so many…

"Kiku! Kiku, look at me~aru! _Kiku!_"

The boy's eyes slid open slowly, painfully. "Y…Yao…"

"It's okay; you're okay. Just keep calm-"

"I am… calm. You're… the one panicking…" His voice trailed off and his eyes slid closed again.

"Kiku! Hey, don't fall asleep~aru! Why'd you do that, you idiot?! You should've stayed back~aru!"

Kiku opened his eyes again, smiling weakly. "And… let that thing kill you…? No thank you…"

Yao lifted the boy closer to his chest. "You damned fool! If you die, I'll never forgive myself!"

Kiku chuckled. It turned into a hoarse cough. "So you do care… huh…"

"Of course I care, Kiku~aru. I love you."

The boy shook his head. "Really? Do you… really mean that?" He coughed again. Blood stained his lips.

Yao leaned forward. "Absolutely~aru." And without a second thought, he leaned forward and pressed their lips together, ignoring the taste of blood.

Kiku smiled weakly. "So… This… isn't how I expected this to go, but…" He trailed off, looking happier than Yao had ever seen him.

Then he blacked out.

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**Muah ha ha ha! Bet you didn't see that coming!**

**Hell,** _**I**_** didn't see that coming. I really need to get this story back on track…**

**Kiku: Really?**

**Yes, really. Don't look at me like that. It's hardly my fault you're a heroic little assassin.**

**Kiku: …**

**I don't like the way he's looking at me… So yeah, that totally wasn't my fault. I wasn't even planning that when I started writing this chapter! But cliffhangers are nice, yes? *examines threatening expressions* No? Okay…**

**Kiku: *draws sword***

**Oh shit.**

_**Don'tforgettoreviewseeyounexttime~!**_

***runs***

**-Bird**


	7. Past Wounds

Past Wounds (Present Pain)

**So, I'm still alive. Kiku didn't manage to kill me. I did have to tie him up, though.**

**Kiku: *glares***

***giggles nervously* So, he kind of wants to kill me. Get over it! It wasn't that bad!**

**Kiku: *glares***

**Did I forget to mention I gagged him? Anyways, I'm safe for now. Though he's kind of scaring me…**

**Lovino: Why am I here?**

**Because. I need someone to do the disclaimer.**

**Lovino: Can't you do it yourself?**

**Could, yes. Want to, no.**

**Lovino: Fuck you. *leaves***

**Oh for- fine! *muttering* Lazy bastard. Okay, I still don't own Hetalia, blah blah blah.**

**Warning: Dark shit. Lots and lots of dark shit. This chapter here is one of the reasons this is rated M. Let's see what happens… Well… Ah… Mentions of rape, self-harm, attempted suicide… I… think that's it… Oh yeah, torture… And I'm pretty sure that's all. Yeah, sorry about this, Kiku…**

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_"I can't hold on to me,  
>Wonder what's wrong with me?"<br>-Evanescence  
>Lithium<em>

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"Nngh…"

Kiku blinked, wincing as the light around him scorched his eyes. It was too bright, he couldn't _see_-

"Relax, Little One."

The voice was soft, and… warm? Comforting? Almost familiar. Kiku looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Where are you?" he called desperately.

"I am all around around you, Little One." The voice shifted around him, filling the air with its warm cadence. "You should know that. Don't you remember?"

Kiku shook his head desperately. "I don't know! Who _are_ you?"

"I am the light. A symbol of hope, of day. You should know this. Do you remember nothing? Do you not remember who you are?"

"I know who I am," Kiku insisted. "I am the Royal Assassin of Siarus. My name is Kiku, I am eighteen years old. I have lived in Siarus my whole life. That's all there is to me."

The voice sighed, as though disappointed. "No, Little One. That is not you; or rather, it shouldn't be."

"Who am I, then?" Kiku's voice shook. "If you are saying my whole life is a lie, then tell me the truth!"

"I cannot."

"What?!" His voice changed; instead of being scared and shaky, it was suddenly strong, with the snap of authority that Arthur and Francis sometimes used. "You cannot tell me my whole life is a lie and leave it at that! I… I _command_ you to tell me!" He stopped. Where had that come from?

"Good," the voice said, amused. "Good. You're beginning to remember. Now, the library should hold the key. Go there. That is where you must begin your search…"

Kiku opened his eyes. Yao, sitting next to him on another of the hospital wing's beds, jumped at least a foot. "Kiku! Oh, thank the gods you're alright~aru!"

"Y-Yao? What- What happened? The last thing I remember was that wolf, and- Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," the older man murmured. "But you had me worried sick! I was so scared you wouldn't make it…" He lifted Kiku into his arms, holding him close. "Never scare me like that again, got it~aru?!"

The Assassin returned the embrace, enjoying the comfort. "I'm sorry… But I can't promise I won't do it again. What do you expect me to do if you're in trouble, leave you to die?"

"Hey! Kiku!" The two of them spun around, staring at Alfred, standing in the doorway. He ignored them, turning to shout down the hall. "Guys! He's awake!"

Gilbert was the first one into the room. "Sweet! Oh, Kiku? The wolves… weren't our idea."

"I should hope not," Kiku retorted. But he smiled anyway.

"You'd better be thankful, bastard. We had to put off leaving by a week to help you out."

"Ah, come on, Lovi, don't be like that~! You were the one who insisted we stay until he woke up…" The last part was murmured, a soft reminder, but Kiku still heard it clearly as the King and Lord of Sapin entered the room. Then a thought struck him.

"A week?"

"You were out for five days," Yao said quietly, burying his head in the Assassin's ebony hair. "But you're awake now, and that's all that matters~aru."

_Five days? I lost five days?_

Something of his thoughts must have seeped into his expression, because Lovino sighed. "It's not as bad as it could be. I lost three weeks once."

Antonio shuddered. "Don't remind me…"

Kiku thought about that. Then he decided to spare himself the headache and not ask. "Well, I'm awake now."

"True." Antonio wrapped his arm around Lovino's shoulders. "And considering my consort seems to lack the ability to play nice when we're in Dangeld, I think we should probably go home."

Lovino nodded, pulling away from Antonio's grip. "And who knows what state Sapin is in now?"

Kiku smiled. "Then I wish you both a good trip back to Sapin. Try not to kill each other before you leave Dangeld's borders? It would be best to avoid diplomatic incidents."

They all laughed. Then a familiar sense cut through his mind. Kiku sighed internally, forcing his face to remain calm.

_Yes, my lord?_

Ah, Kiku. You have not killed the prince yet.

Ah… not yet, no. I have been… indisposed these past five days.

Kill him soon, da? I will not be kept waiting forever.

Of course not, my lord.

Good. See you soon, my little chrysanthemum.

"…okay~aru? Kiku?"

"Hm?" Kiku shook himself out of the daze he'd fallen into. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Completely fine. Just distracted, is all." He faked a yawn. "And tired. Would you all mind leaving for now? I'd like to sleep for a while."

They nodded and began to file out, until only Yao remained. He stood, pushing the bed he'd been sitting on from its place next to Kiku to press it against Kiku's own. The Assassin blinked. "Yao? What are you doing?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily~aru. I'm staying right here." The older man lay down, beckoning Kiku towards him. The younger slowly moved to him, curling up against his warm chest. Yao wrapped his strong arms around Kiku's slender frame and closed his eyes. Kiku smiled softly. Sheltered in the older man's arms, he quickly fell asleep.

Sadly, his dreams were anything but peaceful.

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_He'd never killed a man before._

_He'd trained, yes. For his whole life. But he'd never killed before. Never._

_Now he watched the man, the random, unknown, unimportant man who had been chosen to die so he would become a monster writhe in the dust with something close to morbid curiosity. And horror._

_He'd done this._

_The knowledge was intoxicating._

_It hurt._

_The man died quickly; too quick for his master. The blows hurt. When the elder princess cleaned and bound them, that hurt too._

_But not as much as the knowledge that, on some level, he'd enjoyed it._

_He'd **enjoyed** being a murderer._

_And it tore through his veins like poison._

_That night he hid in a corner of the ceiling, watching them all search for him. And when they gave up, he buried a fist in his mouth and **screamed** for all he was worth, until his voice was gone and his fist was bleeding where he'd bitten down on it._

_He'd enjoyed it._

_He was twelve, and he was grieving._

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_The bed was pretty._

_Beautiful, even._

_Pale blue sheets on a white mattress, with a black teak headboard and sunflowers on the floor all around. The air was filled with their scent._

_He hated sunflowers._

_And no matter how pretty the bed was, it didn't conceal the agony and the terror as he was forced to do things no child should ever have to do. No matter how warm it was under the sheets, it didn't stop the ice that crawled through his veins when he lay next to his 'lover'- his master. No matter how much he dug his knife into the planks holding the mattress up, they refused to give way under the man._

_So he hid his heart deep inside himself where he'd never have to feel the pain again._

_He was thirteen, and he was hiding._

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_The iron collar burned as his master clamped it shut, the fire the metal had lain in flickering, deceptively innocent._

_The metal's heat scorched his skin, burning the flesh, leaving its brand around his throat, dark lines reminding him forever of what he was- a pet, a caged creature, the King of Siarus' little monster-_

_"I am sorry, my little chrysanthemum, but you cannot forget who you are again."_

_He wanted to spit at the voice; wanted to do what had caused this agony and fight back, stop him, he didn't **want** this, to be violated again and again and again until it was all he knew._

_He spat insults through the pain, desperate whispered cruelty in a language he didn't know. His master growled and tightened the collar until he screamed and collapsed, welcoming the blackness once more._

_It was the last time he passed out for five years._

_He was still thirteen, and he was weak._

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_His room was the only haven he had._

_It was lit by candles in every corner of the room, so nothing could hide in the shadows. There were instruments of every sort scattered about; flute and violin and piano and everything else he could get his hands on. Weapons, everything he could find, adorned the walls. Sharpened wooden chopsticks and folding fans of deadly steel lay among the swords and knives now; over the years, he'd learned how to hide. That a piece of wood could kill just as easily as a blade._

_He still plotted his revenge. But he was less open about it now._

_Let his master think that the room tucked away in a corner of the floor of Siarus Castle that they shared was innocent, just a music room. One day…_

_He was fourteen, and he was angry._

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_The younger princess hated him._

_When his master—her brother—smiled at him so sickening-sweetly and patted his head and brushed fingers against his neck, she'd look at him with those jealous eyes that promised death._

_He wished he could tell her that he would welcome it._

_He was so sick of being a servant, a slave. She was welcome to the master's touches and caresses that burned his skin like fire, like ice. Welcome to the pain and screaming, screaming, **screaming** for him to stop, too much, he wasn't ready, he couldn't-_

_He couldn't **breathe**._

_So he forced himself to accept that voice whispering to him, its 'little chrysanthemum' as it called him. Told himself it wasn't that bad. Ignored the way his heart, his emotions clenched, begging for acknowledgement._

_Pretended he didn't want it to stop beating._

_He was fifteen, and he was frightened._

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_When the elder princess came in and found him, lying on the floor with his wrists slit open and his red, red blood staining the white carpet, she didn't scream._

_She lifted him into her arms and ran to the bathroom, stopped the bleeding, saved his miserable life._

_He hated her for it._

_But from that day on, she would talk to his master once or twice a week; and then she would bring him into her own room for the night, lay him on a bed she'd gotten especially for him, tuck him in and kiss him on the forehead like a mother would, like she had when he was young, hold him close and sing to him when he woke up screaming, tell him it would be alright._

_She was lying, and they both knew it. But he didn't mind. It was comfort, and that was something he needed._

_It didn't stop him from trying again, and again, until one day she sat him down and begged him to keep fighting, to not give in to his despair. And he promised he'd try. But his collection of weapons grew more tempting by the day until he went into his bathroom, covered the windows, locked the door, and cut through the skin, allowing the pain to ground him. He didn't leave the room until the bleeding stopped and no evidence remained but the marks that would leave scars._

_He never broke his promise._

_He was nearly sixteen, and he was tired._

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_The heated metal scorched his back and he nearly screamed, but held himself back. Instead he stared up at the blond-haired prince who looked back with shocked blue eyes, a hand reached out as though to catch him. He nearly laughed. Catch him? Save him?_

_He'd fallen too far for a savior to reach him._

_He let the pain hit him, brand him once again with hot iron, ground him in the manner he'd become accustomed to. And he smiled ever-so-faintly through the mask he wore, always wore, to hide himself away._

_Because for a single moment the pain felt **good**. For a heartbeat he thought maybe this time it would kill him._

_But it didn't._

_It never did._

_Instead, the heat burned his flesh black and he knew this was permanent, more scars for him to carry. A punishment, perhaps._

_Marks like wings had been burned away. A fallen angel._

_But he was never an angel. He knew that well. So he accepted the pain as torture for his sins. He deserved it, after all, for working for such a cruel master. Like a devil's lapdog._

_He was sixteen, and he was burning._

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_He was scarred._

_The burns that covered his skin hurt less with every passing day. The broken bones, the gashes, they all healed._

_But he still felt the heat of anger and humiliation and despair running in his veins like blood._

_He'd become thin and pale, like a wraith. He moved through the shadows, keeping away from his master until he was called._

_A collared pet could not disobey his master._

_He saw the younger princess smile at his weakness, heard the elder weep. And still he did his master's bidding. He came when called. He killed when ordered. He slept with the older man when he was thrown to the bed, pinned down under the larger weight with teeth nipping up his neck. It was pointless to resist, anyway._

_He simply lay still now. Didn't fight it, but didn't reciprocate either. And the anger and hate he felt burning within—at his master who violated him, the younger princess who laughed at him, the elder who saved him when he only wanted death, at himself, so weak, so **useless**—spilled into his work like the blood he spattered across the ground._

_There was no remorse now. The remorseful one had been a twelve year old with bloodstained skin and haunted eyes. That boy was long dead._

_His skin was still bloodstained, and his eyes were still haunted._

_He still grieved._

_And his grief made him beautiful, according to his master. With sad eyes like night burning out from skin like snow, pale from little food and sun. People wanted to know why he was so sad._

_He didn't care about people. He didn't care, because people didn't care about him. They just saw a pretty face._

_He'd wash up after one of his master's little 'games' and then sit—dripping wet with only a towel to cover him—by the window as a cold breeze blew in until he was shaking and cold as the snow his skin resembled. He pressed himself against the glass and pretended his tears were frozen._

_It wasn't true. He just didn't have the strength to weep anymore. Something had gone, something deep inside, and now he didn't care enough to wonder what._

_He was seventeen, and he was fading._

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_He fulfilled every one of his master's requests like one of the clever machines the man had brought back after the Fall of Aetsaias. He did his job with unfeeling grace. Without caring._

_Damn, he hadn't really **felt** in so long._

_Which was why he was so interested at this latest mission. Because when his master had mentioned **Alfred** something he half-remembered as **fear** stirred in him, and when the man said **Dangeld** a strange **longing** had burst to life._

_But it didn't matter, really. Curious though it was._

_He'd do the job, he'd return to Siarus, and he would work up enough willpower to finish this damned half-life once and for all. He was too tired right now, but this mission might give him enough adrenaline to actually do it. The promise he'd made however-many-years ago didn't matter anymore; the princess was always crying over him now. She'd be happier if he were gone. So it didn't matter. Nothing ever did now._

_He was eighteen, and he was broken._

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Yao rolled over slightly to watch Kiku sleep.

Not in a creepy way, mind you. But he'd noticed that whenever Kiku was asleep, peacefully asleep, he looked so much… _younger_. With the sadness and exhaustion his eyes always carried hidden from view, there was an innocence about him that you never saw when he was awake. And it was a good opportunity, now that he was so deeply asleep, to just… _look_ at him. Take in that impossible beauty.

Yao absently straightened the collar of the shirt the boy was wearing. And, yes, he had changed Kiku's clothes, but he hadn't looked! And it had been incredibly hard to resist the temptation. There would probably be hell to pay for it later anyway, but the boy's shirt had been pretty thoroughly shredded. He was actually wearing one of Yao's shirts- his pants had been more or less fine, and the bodyguard couldn't figure out where his impossibly secretive sort-of boyfriend kept his clothes.

His fingers brushed against Kiku's neck, and he whimpered, jerking away from the touch even in sleep. Yao frowned, pulling the collar down ever so slightly. He hissed in shock. "Oh gods~aru…"

There were burn scars in a circle going all the way around the boy's neck, like he'd been branded with a hot metal collar. Yao quickly undid the first button on the shirt to get a better view. Indeed, the marks did go all around the boy's neck. And they weren't that recent; years old. He couldn't have been older than thirteen or fourteen. _Who would do such a thing to a child?_

And now that the shirt was slightly looser around the neck, Yao could see the tops of those awful scars he'd noticed the morning after the party; two long marks like Kiku had been shoved into heated metal back first. The older man didn't dare touch them. Instead, he reached for the boy's wrist, lifting it from the bed and rolling back the sleeve, praying he was wrong, that he wouldn't see-

Scars. A neat row of them went along Kiku's left arm, clearly done by the boy himself, holding the knife awkwardly in his right hand- awkwardly, as he was, of course, left-handed. Several close to the veins in the wrist looked especially deep-

"Oh, Kiku~aru. Oh my dear Kiku, why would you do this to yourself…? What could possibly hurt so much that you'd do this, that you'd want to-" He couldn't finish the sentence. It hurt too much, to think of Kiku, _his_ Kiku, doing this to himself…

He paused. What was-

There was a speck of dark on the back of the boy's left hand. *No. Please, no more burns…*

But this looked natural. Like a birthmark. But it was covered in a powder that was so similar to Kiku's skin tone, even copying the veins, that it had to be something he wanted hidden. Come to think of it, there'd been a bottle of that sort of powder in Kiku's pocket. Yao actually had it with him for some unknown reason.

_Just a quick look,_ he reasoned. _It won't hurt… And Kiku never has to know… I'll just cover it up again._

He carefully wiped the powder away, impressed at how it stuck to the boy's skin, careful not to wake him. He looked at the birthmark hidden under the layer. His eyes widened.

"That's not possible~aru…"

He was wrong. This could hurt. It could hurt both him and Kiku terribly if word ever reached King Ivan.

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**Hey, look at that. Over 3000 words! And a double cliffie. Uh… oops?**

**Yao: You're a terrible person, you know that~aru? You leave the readers with one cliffhanger, then you come back only to leave them with another!**

**I know… I know… I'm ashamed… Ah, not really. So, yes, feel free to scream at me via reviews. *muttering* Not that I get enough of that from the characters or anything… Make Kiku stop being so mean to me, Yao!**

**Yao: What? No! You've done enough that he has the right to be mean to you~aru!**

**Okay… *sniffs* No TurkIce this chapter. Or PruCan. And my Spamano babies are going back to Sapin, so no more of them either! But ChuNi feels and backstory, right? That's good, right? Although I feel bad for Kiku now…**

**Yao: You should!**

**Okay, okay… Overprotective boyfriend much? Gah, I'm tired. It's almost 11 PM while I'm writing this, and my wrist now hates me. So yeah.**

**See you later~!**

**-Bird**


	8. Lineage

Lineage (Is A Tricky Thing)

**Yay! I'm back! And Kiku isn't tied up anymore, too. But Toni and Lovi are leaving this chapter… *cries* Come back!**

**Lovino: Fuck. No.**

**Aw, you're mean. But I've still got lots of toys- I mean, characters to mess with- I mean, write. So it's not that bad, right?**

**So, in this chapter… More backstory! Also a teensy bit more Spamano before my babies leave… :( And perhaps TurkIce and PruCan, to make up for the lack of them last chapter. And to celebrate their not-very-triumphant return, Emmi returns to do the disclaimer!**

**Emil: If you call me Emmi _one more time_- Ugh, forget it. BirdSpell doesn't own Hetalia or assassins or anything else in this story but the plot.**

**Thank you. Now then, shall we start?**

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_"Oh, baby anywhere you go,  
>We are bound together."<br>-Belinda Carlisle  
>Circle in the Sand<em>

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_They ran._

_Their feet barely touched the ground as they sprinted through the corridors of the palace, the elder holding his prince close._ Turn left, _the voice of the god within him hissed. _Hurry.

_The young lord sped up, darting around the corner as fast as his feet would take him, pulling his younger brother behind him. "Hurry, Xiao! Run! We have to make it to the harbor!"_

_Xiao ran faster, struggling to keep up with his brother's longer legs. The prince held tightly in the elder's arms shifted, whining softly for his mother. The lord brushed the birthmark on the two year old's left hand comfortingly._

_"Shh, shhh… It'll be okay. Just stay quiet, okay, my little prince?" So saying, the boy darted around the corner into a garden- and halted._

_There stood his people's enemy, the one who had murdered the queen, who would murder the little prince that the young lord loved so much. The god within him stirred angrily at the danger to his chosen one. The lord pushed his brother behind him, lowering the prince into the six year old's arms and drawing his dagger. "S-stay back!"_

_King Ivan merely laughed. "Who are you to tell me what to do? Come now, just give me the prince, and you and your… brother, is it? You two can leave."_

_"Like hell I'd let you have the prince!"_

_Ivan sighed. "So be it." He drew a long pipe and charged._

_The lord's little dagger and nine year old strength were no match for the solid metal and the power of a full-grown man. He was easily thrown to the ground. "Xiao- Run! Hurry!"_

_But before the boy could move, Ivan's pipe crashed down; on his side, his legs, his neck, anywhere it could reach. And when Xiao lay bloody and broken on the ground, the bastard King simply plucked the Prince of Aetsaias from the ground and moved to a stone structure off to one side of the green space now stained red. The lord screamed for his prince and his brother as Ivan walked into the shed and the ground rumbled underneath them. The palace began to collapse, and the shed fell apart. King Ivan was alone._

_The prince was gone._

_And the lord screamed his grief and hate as Ivan walked past him, not even slowing. The boy was battered and exhausted, but he crawled to his little brother's side. "Xiao!"_

_"Gege…" the six year old choked, coughing up blood, "hurts…"_

_"I know, I know, but it'll be fine, it'll-"_

_Xiao smiled weakly. "…Find him? The prince… he… needs you… more than I do…"_

_"No! Xiao!" His brother's head fell limply to the side. Even without checking, the nine year old knew his heart had stopped._

_"XIAO!"_

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"You're from Aetsaias, aren't you?"

Yao shook himself out of the memories he had fallen into. Kiku was looking at him with warm, understanding eyes. "Sorry, what was that~aru?"

"You're from Aetsaias, aren't you?" he repeated. It wasn't really a question. "But you don't talk about it. Don't you trust the prince?"

The bodyguard sighed. "If I say no, you won't believe me, will you~aru?"

"Not in the slightest. So why come here? There were closer kingdoms you could go to… And at the time of the Fall, you'd have been… what, ten?"

"Nine, but close~aru. I wanted to keep an eye on that bastard Ivan." He noted the way Kiku flinched ever-so-slightly at the name. "And you?"

The boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Why'd you go to Siarus~aru?"

Kiku blinked, confused. "I didn't 'go' to Siarus. I was born there."

"Bullshit~aru. I've seen people born in Siarus; you can't possibly be from there. I'd say you're definitely Aetsaian."

Kiku shook his head almost frantically. "No, that's impossible. I've lived in Siarus as long as I can remember-"

"Well, that makes perfect sense~aru. If you're eighteen, you would've been… about two during the Fall? So if your parents didn't tell you- Wait, why wouldn't they tell you? And why move to Siarus…?"

"I… don't live with my parents. They're dead. But Siarus… surely someone would have told me?"

Yao frowned. "You'd think so~aru. Unless you're a noble or something… in which case having that knowledge while living in Siarus would be dangerous. But most nobles have a certain… air about them~aru."

"I didn't grow up as a noble, though." Kiku's eyes widened. "Hang on. I had a really weird dream earlier… Someone said something about the library holding the key. Should we look at it?"

"Yes~aru. But first…" Yao reached out, grabbing Kiku's left wrist and turning it over to reveal the delicate tracery of black lines forming a small sun on the back of his hand, maybe an inch or two across. The boy's eyes widened as he saw the uncovered mark. "Do you know the significance of this~aru? Because I'm sure there's something important about it. I've seen it somewhere…"

"How did you- Never mind. Maybe there'll be a book in the library?"

Yao nodded, grabbing the boy by the hand and dragging him along behind him. "To the library~aru!"

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Emil glanced up at the sound of running footsteps entering the library, slowing down considerably as the librarian hissed at them. Yao and the Assassin—Kiku, whatever—walked quickly, not _exactly_ running, to the ancient symbols section and vanished between the shelves, talking quietly.

"Wonder what they're up to."

Emil didn't even look up. "Are you stalking me, Sadiq?"

"What makes you say that?" The Ambassador dropped into a chair beside him. "Maybe I'm stalking those two. Or maybe I'm just not stalking anyone. Did that cross your mind, kid?"

The boy shrugged, deliberately making the movement as insolent as possible. Sadiq was… interesting. No matter how rude or difficult or just plain impossible the prince was, the Ambassador refused, flat out _refused_, to _piss the fuck off_. He'd tried everything short of freezing him solid or otherwise killing him. And his fathers had ordered him not to cause any diplomatic issues.

It was irritating.

"Maybe the fact you keep showing up."

Sadiq chuckled. "Well, I'm just as curious about that little Assassin as you are." His voice dropped so that Emil had to lean forward to him. He brushed a hand against the boy's cheek. "But you… Oh. The royal family? You've got some high goals there, *Ice Prince*." His voice hissed sibilantly on the 'c's.

"What?"

Sadiq glanced around nervously. "Not here. Come with me."

He didn't really have a choice, did he?

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Kiku glanced around the shelf, watching Emil and Sadiq leave. _I wonder what that's all about._ He sighed. _Ah, I doubt it's important._ Turning back to the shelves, he scooped up one of the vast collection of ancient symbol compendiums. It was heavy, done in black leather with a pretty silver moon symbol embedded in the center. Kiku opened the book to a random page and collapsed in the chair across from Yao. The older Aetsaian smiled sympathetically at him.

Aetsaian.

He'd lived in Siarus as long as he could remember. Was it really possible that Ivan had taken him from Aetsaias? Well, yes. It was _Ivan_. But now… was he _really_…

Kiku shook his head and went back to his book. "Let's see… the black griffin… A symbol of shadow magic mastery. The dragon… symbol of wrath and power… The full moon… symbolizes the moon's blessing…"

He turned the page. "Oh! Here it is-" He stopped. The writing defining the meaning of the birthmark on his hand was… _gone_. Just the picture and a blank page, with just six words remaining in a dull silver ink.

_The Light will show the truth._

Yao leaned over. "The Light~aru?"

Kiku frowned. "It sounds like it's talking about a person, not a type of energy…"

He rested the book on the table, absently brushing his fingers over the words- "Huh?"

The letters began to shimmer and change, thickening, growing out of the parchment and forming…

"A key~aru?"

A ridiculously ornate key. Kiku shrugged absently, leaning forward slightly and scooping it up. "Something tells me we won't want anyone overhearing this part… Shall we go to my room?"

Yao hummed in agreement, picking the book up and tucking it under his arm, putting the other books they'd been looking at back on the shelf. "Hey, what's this?" He pulled out a thin book. The cover was done in what looked like gold with silver lettering. "Aiyah, this is _heavy_!"

"That looks like real gold…" Kiku slid the key into his pocket, one hand remaining in contact with the silver. "What's it called?"

Yao glanced at the cover. "Umm… _Sunspell_, I think. It's in really ornate writing."

Kiku nodded. "Bring that, too. Could be important."

And the two of them left the library as quickly as they could.

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Matthew looked uncertain.

Gilbert frowned. He hadn't seen his boyfriend look that unsure of himself in… oh, it had to be at least ten years now. Not since the Great Towel Incident, when Alfred had- No, better not to dwell on that.

"Birdie?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, yeah, Gil? What is it?"

The white haired man wrapped his arms around the prince's waist, pulling him close and resting his chin on the smaller man's head. "You look like you're conflicted about something. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! It's absolutely-"

"Birdie."

"-nothing at all and-"

"_Birdie._"

"-there's really nothing for you to-"

"_Birdie!_"

"What?!"

Gilbert moved his head so he could look the other man in the eye. "What's. Wrong."

Matthew sighed in reluctant acquiescence. "It's about Sadiq. Something's just… not right about him. And he's spending so much time around Prince Emil… I just don't want anything to happen to him."

Gilbert blinked. "You're worried about the Ice Prince? Well, okay… But I'm sure the kid has it all under control." He leaned forward to nibble on Matthew's ear. The prince squeaked.

"Gil… Now, really?"

"Don't even pretend you don't enjoy it," he purred. "Now then… Just relax…"

Gilbert couldn't help a pleased hum as the blond went slightly boneless against him.

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"Alright, how do you know about Kiku?"

Sadiq shrugged. "Well, you know. We move in similar circles. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Emil didn't want to figure it out. He didn't want to know. But that wasn't how his mind worked. "You. You're the second Royal Assassin, the one who tried to kill Alfred. You're not here as an Ambassador at all, are you?"

"Nope." Sadiq frowned at him. "Don't tell me you're actually _surprised._ I thought you were supposed to be a _proper genius_. You must have guessed."

The boy nodded slowly. His hands shook ever so slightly. "I guessed. You were the only possibility; Antonio doesn't have the cunning, Lovino wouldn't act without him, all the others have been here too long and have been too thoroughly vetted by Arthur. Except Kiku, of course… How much of his story do you know, anyway?"

"More than you'd think." Sadiq smirked, glancing at him. "Are you upset? I thought you didn't care about people."

"I don't." Emil closed his eyes, forcing the tremors from his hands and the ice from his fingertips. "It just would've made a nice change if I were wrong. Games are no fun if you always win."

"Is that what all this is to you? A game?"

"Yes," no, "but it seems it doesn't matter. You wouldn't be telling me all this if you intended to just let me go."

Sadiq chuckled. "Damn, kid. Don't you care about your own life?"

The prince shrugged. "Like you said, I'm a genius. We get bored."

"You're not bored now, are you?"

Emil pretended to consider that. "You could be a little less obvious."

"I'm not being obvious!" The Assassin actually sounded insulted. If the situation wasn't so dire, Emil would've laughed.

"Please. Just go ahead and kill me already. It's a pity, though; I haven't been bored in a while. I've considered dying to alleviate the boredom, but now it's not really worth it. It's funny. Ever since I got here and met you lunatics, I've felt almost normal." He sighed. "I guess it can't be helped."

Sadiq blinked, puzzled. "You think I brought you here to kill you?" He laughed. "I'm not going to kill you!"

That threw Emil off. "You're… not? But… I thought…"

"Kid, other than your recreational incest—don't look at me like that, it's not exactly a secret—how much interaction do you have with humanity?"

"Not much. I don't like people."

Sadiq rolled his eyes. "Of course, all the people you could've chosen, it had to be a sociopathic introvert."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. No, Emil, I'm not here to kill you. You're too interesting for that." The way Sadiq said his name sent a shiver down his spine.

"Th-then… why did you bring me here?"

"Simple." Sadiq leaned forward until his breath brushed across Emil's lips. "If I knocked you out in the library," he murmured, "people would talk."

Wait. What?

Emil was too distracted by the man's _closeness_ to notice what he was doing until something jabbed him in the side. Sadiq lifted the needle into the boy's field of view. "Sorry about this, kid."

The Ice Prince barely heard him as his vision swam sickeningly and he crumpled, just as he barely felt Sadiq lift him into his arms.

He was unconscious before the man stood.

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Kiku glared at the book of symbols, looking between it and the key as if that would tell him the answers to all his questions. Yao rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, it's not like we expected to find the answer instantly~aru."

"I know, but…" Kiku absently scooped up the gold-covered book and opened it to the first page. "The Sunspell," he read aloud. "Being the first Parte of the Compendium leading to Masterie of the arcane Magycks Light and Dark. Is this a spell book?"

"Sounds like it~aru."

Kiku hummed, right hand going almost instinctively to hold the key as he went to turn the page.

"Ah-!"

"Kiku!"

He couldn't move. His hands burned where they touched the book and the key. It hurt like hell. _Let go! Let go let go-_

The key slipped through his fingers and clattered against the stone floor. Kiku stumbled back, Yao catching him before he could fall. "Kiku!"

He blinked, confused. Yao's face swam before his eyes. "…I'm never doing that again," he managed to murmur before his world went dark.

_He opened his eyes in that strange bright place he'd seen before. "Here again, I see…"_

_"Yes, Little One."_

_Kiku didn't bother searching for the source of the voice this time. "I assume you'll give me some cryptic hint about why exactly holding the key and the book burnt my hands?"_

_"They didn't actually burn your hands. That was… oh, what do you children call it… Ah, yes. Psychosomatic. That book just wasn't supposed to come into your hands just yet is all."_

_"So they're connected?"_

_"No comment. Anyway, now that you have the key, the puzzle should be easy. You've already heard the story, after all."_

_"I… have? What story?" The brightness began to fade. "No, wait! Please!"_

_"You have the answer, Little One," the voice whispered. "Like a fairytale."_

"Wait!"

A hand pressed against his chest, keeping him from leaping up. "Calm down, Kiku," Yao hummed. "It's alright."

"It's not alright!" he cried. "I have to know what's happening! Now! I come here and suddenly my whole life's a lie! Do you have any idea how that feels- Yao?"

The older man's gaze had slipped from his eyes to his- "_Oh my fucking gods now is not the time!_"

"Hm?" Yao asked, smirking at him. "What was that, Kiku~aru?"

"Yao, we can deal with your sexual frustration later. Right now we have to work. Don't make me slap you."

"You are no fun, you know that?" But he got off the bed and went over to the table. "It would be a lot easier to not want to jump you if you stopped scaring me like this, you know~aru?"

Kiku sat up. "I don't like it either, so don't look at me like that."

"Hm." Yao dropped the key on the table. Kiku smiled in thanks and opened the symbols book again. He ignored the not-very-covert looks Yao kept sending him and began to read.

_Like a fairytale… How do fairytales work? Well, the day is won when the damsel receives true love's kiss and- Oh gods no. Please tell me that's not it._

"Kiku?" Yao's hand touched Kiku's and a spark ran through them both. Kiku gulped.

"Yao, I need you to-"

A knock interrupted them. "Their highnesses King Antonio and Lord Lovino are about to leave, and they wish to speak with you before they depart-"

Before the messenger could finish, the door slid open and the two men wandered in. "Hey, bastards," Lovino greeted irritably. Antonio grinned.

"Don't mind Lovi~! He's just in a difficult mood because he gets seasick."

"I do not!"

Antonio wrapped an arm around the lord's shoulders. "Aw, c'mon Lovi~! Just admit it~!"

Kiku laughed softly. "You two are leaving, then?"

"Yeah," Antonio said. "We'll miss you all! You'll have to come and visit us sometimes!"

"Hell no, bastard! I don't want these two-"

"Goodbye," Kiku interrupted. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Antonio hummed happily. "I hope so! Take care of each other, you hear? True love is hard to come by these days, and I want everyone to be as lucky as me~!"

Lovino blushed. "Stupid tomato bastard… But yeah, we'll see you around. Have fun, you two." Was that a pointed remark?

Before Kiku could say anything, Antonio pulled out a watch and gasped. "Oh no! Is that really the time? We'll miss our ship! Come on Lovi, hurry! Bye, you two!" He stopped before they could hurry out the door. "Hey, do either of you know where Emil is? He wasn't in his room."

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"Nngh…" Emil forced his eyes open. His head was spinning. He felt sick.

"You're awake, I see." He glanced over at Sadiq.

"Wh…where are we…?"

"Still in the castle."

"Are you sure you're not planning to kill me?"

Sadiq laughed. "Of course. But haven't you noticed? Ever since I first got to talk to you, I haven't tried to kill Alfred at all…"

"What do you mean?" Emil looked around the room. He was lying on a comfortable bed with the covers pulled over him. It was a nice room, with deep blue walls and grey carpet. It felt… safe.

"You like the room?"

"Answer the question, Pops," the Ice Prince retorted.

"Ah, you're so cute when you're terrified. You've… distracted me, Emil. I can't focus on my mission with you here… You with your silver hair and pretty violet eyes…"

Was this going where he thought it was going? "You have got to be kidding."

"I wish." Sadiq shook his head. "But no. You've transfixed me, kid. And I can't stop thinking about you… You don't want to know what my imagination comes up with."

"You really do have terrible taste."

Sadiq sat beside him, running fingers through his silver hair and along his pale cheeks. "I think I have quite good taste." Emil turned to look at him. "I mean, have you looked in a mirror lately? You are a knockout, kid." The older man leaned forward, breath ghosting along his cheek. "And so mysterious, with your intelligence… Why hide it?"

Emil flushed faintly. "I'm allowed my secrets," he murmured.

"Secrets are meant to be shared… with someone special."

Emil rolled his eyes and let himself lean forward the rest of the way, until their lips touched.

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"Okay~aru," Yao hummed. "We've seen those two off and I'm sure Emil will turn up eventually. What did you want to say~aru?"

Kiku blushed. "I… well… when I passed out, I had a weird dream, like the one I had before, and the voice said the answer was like a fairytale, and in fairytales answers are always found with true love's kiss so I thought-"

"Woah, slow down~aru."

Kiku took a deep breath. "Kiss me."

Yao blinked. "Uh… what?"

"You heard me! It's complicated and I'll explain later if it works and- Oh, just _kiss me_ dammit!"

The older man shrugged. Well, how could he say no? "Okay~aru."

He stood, pulling Kiku to him and wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. "Put your arms around me," he instructed. The eighteen year old hesitantly twined his arms around Yao's neck and tilted his head up. The elder leaned down and pressed their lips together.

Kiku's lips were soft and sweet and warm. Yao couldn't help but press harder, tightening his hold on Kiku's waist and nibbling on his lower lip. The boy's lips parted slightly in silent acquiescence, and Yao slid his tongue into the gap. He backed Kiku up against the wall, hands coming to rest on the cool stone for support. Kiku flinched slightly.

Then a spark ran through both of them and Yao sprang back in shock.

Kiku dropped to his knees by the wall, gasping for air and shaking, hands pressed against the sides of his head.

"I'm… I'm…"

Yao knelt in front of him. "Kiku? Are you alright? Did it work?"

The boy looked up, dark eyes haunted and frightened. "I'm the Prince of Aetsaias…"

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**Okay, show of hands, who totally saw that one coming? But, hey, it's not **_**exactly**_** a cliffhanger. So that's good. And also proper TurkIce now. And more PruCan. But no more Spamano in this story! Oh well. I have plans for them… (; And, by the way, the next chapter is nearly done already, so it should be up soon.**

**Anyway, I've got stuff that needs to get done, so I'll go now. Don't forget to review!**

**See you~!**

**-Bird**


	9. Loyalty

Loyalty (Is Overrated)

**And more shit goes down~! In fact, we have discoveries, Kiku is *not* a happy camper, Emil and Sadiq have a discussion, and we see what the bad guys are up to! Well, Katyusha. Not the same. But since she's showing up she may as well do the disclaimer.**

**Katyusha: Oh! Well, BirdSpell does not own Hetalia.**

**Thank you, someone polite. Also, my mind is now officially lost in the gutter. Not that I'm complaining, of course.**

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_"How can I know who I am until I find out who I was?"  
>-Jack Frost<br>Rise of the Guardians_

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_He wanted to cry. He was too young for this, and he was scared. But the older boy held him close and murmured comfortingly to him and he knew he was safe._

_But suddenly the older boy was gone and there was noise and screaming and the sunlight wasn't as comforting as it had been before. And then the sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh and still more screaming and he was picked up again._

_This man wasn't comforting. He was cold and harsh, like winter. He smiled and whispered to the boy that everything would be fine now, that he'd grow up safe, but the child was no fool and he knew it wasn't true, no matter what the man thought. He struggled and screamed for comfort of the older boy-_

_And then he was somewhere else, and a woman picked him up in her arms and whispered to him "I'll take care of you, shh, don't cry…" And he believed her, because her voice was soft and comforting and warm and he knew she could be trusted, so he simply snuggled against her and listened._

_"I'm sorry, little prince. One day I'll tell you the truth, I promise… But for now, just forget."_

_And he did._

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Kiku pressed his hands to his head as he crumpled to his knees by the wall, trembling. _Katyusha…_

"I'm… I'm…"

"Kiku? Are you alright? Did it work?"

Kiku looked up, trying to ignore the burn of tears in his eyes and sting of grief as he _remembered_ what had been sacrificed for _him_ and he'd thrown it all away, he'd become a monster-

But there was no denying it.

"I'm the Prince of Aetsaias…"

"What~aru?"

He stood, slowly, legs shaking as they supported his weight. "I'm the Prince of Aetsaias. Me. That bastard kidnapped me! He- Oh that _fucker_."

"Kiku, what happened? Oh, fuck-" Yao leapt forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Kiku's shoulders. "I'm so sorry… If I'd known you were alive, I would have-"

Kiku hesitantly returned the embrace. "Yao- Oh. That was you, wasn't it? The lord who tried to save me… Oh. Oh, gods. Your brother- Oh gods, I- It's all my fault, I'm-"

"No, Kiku," Yao interrupted. "Don't blame yourself. Xiao- Xiao made his choice, and gods know I miss him, but it was _his_ choice to make. You didn't ask him to stay and help me, or to sacrifice himself. But… gods, I thought you were _dead_. For sixteen years, I thought you were dead… What happened to you? What did Ivan do to you?"

"I was…" Kiku hesitated. Could he really tell Yao the truth? No matter who he was, if the elder Aetsaian knew what he'd done… "I was a servant. I suppose while I thought I was Siaran I was safe…" That was true enough, right? "I'm not sure why he sent me here…" That wasn't entirely false either. Why would Ivan send him to a place where one of the only people who could help him remember lived? Unless Ivan didn't know who Yao was…

"That bastard!" Yao muttered. "He'll die for this, I swear-"

"Yao, you can't! If you go after him you'll die, and probably start a war! It's not worth it! Not for me!"

The man's eyes softened and he knelt, pulling Kiku down with him. "No, Kiku. It is worth it. Because I already failed you once… How much do you remember?"

"Not much. I was only two; you can't expect me to remember a huge amount… Were we close, before?"

Yao absently pulled something out of his pocket, fiddling with it. "You could say that~aru. Here. I was supposed to give you this on your eighteenth birthday; it's a bit late, but…"

He handed Kiku a delicate gold band with a diamond embedded in a swirl of silver. The boy blinked, confused. "Is this a wedding ring?"

"Close. It's an engagement ring~aru."

Oh, was that all- "An engagement ring?! Since when are we engaged?!"

"This would have been far easier if you'd grown up in Aetsaias," Yao sighed. "We were engaged… about three weeks after you were born, I think~aru. Arranged marriage and all that…"

Kiku frowned. Opened his mouth. Closed it again. "…Hang on, we just _happened_ to meet?"

"Um, yes~aru."

Kiku burst out laughing. "We just… happened to meet here! Oh gods, that is amazing!" He slid the ring onto his finger, admiring the way it caught the light. "Do you have one too?"

"Mmhmm." Yao held out a hand, revealing an identical ring. "Nice, aren't they? Rumor had it that they were gifts from the Sun and Moon."

"Really?" Kiku looked at the ring. "Sun and Moon, huh…" The narrow band seemed to spark even brighter. "Odd…"

"What is~aru?"

_Didn't he see…?_ "Oh, nothing. Well, actually, everything. I mean, we're engaged, Prince Emil has vanished, according to Antonio and Lovino, and I'm Prince of Aetsaias- Wait." His eyes widened in a way that was probably most amusing. "If I'm the Prince of Aetsaias… and the Queen is dead… does that mean…?"

Yao blinked. "What- oh. Oh. Well, it would appear so~aru."

Kiku gazed up at him imploringly. "Please tell me I'm not an only child. Please, _please_ tell me I've got an older sibling, oh, _please_, Yao…"

But the lord shook his head. "Sorry, Kiku~aru… It's just you."

Oh, no. Oh no no nononono!

"Just… me?"

Oh gods no. "You mean… I'm going to be _King_?!"

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"So," Emil said absently, "exactly how much do you know about Kiku?"

"I know he's heir to the throne of Aetsaias. And I know he's engaged to Yao."

"He is? I didn't know that. But an Assassin King… I don't think I've ever heard of that happening before."

Sadiq shrugged. "It's in the cards. I'm actually next in line for the throne of Sideldemat. Third cousin or something. But all of this mess sounds like the plot of a bad romance novel."

Emil hummed, shifting his head to rest it on the older man's lap. What? It was comfortable. "What do we do about this?"

"About what?"

"Kiku. Us. I mean, my parents won't be happy with my lover being an Assassin…" He ignored Sadiq's surprise at the word 'lover' and continued. "And what should we do about Kiku and Yao? The way I see it, we could either put him on the throne or tear him down before he has a chance to be crowned. If you want to do the latter it'll have to be soon, as I imagine he and Yao have figured it out by now, but I'm leaning towards the former."

Sadiq shrugged again. "He seems like a fun kid… but he's interfering in my mission, so I don't know what I'm going to do."

Emil stood quickly, walking to the door. He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm going back to my room before people get suspicious. And, you know, you're going to have to pick a side sooner or later."

He stopped outside the door. "Well, I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that…

"This little trip to Dangeld is much more interesting than I expected it to be."

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Katyusha sighed.

_Oh, Kiku…_ She knew he'd remembered. But that spell had blocked his memory for good reason! So that he'd believe this was the only life he could possibly have had. It hurt him, she knew, but it was better than knowing he could have been saved, right? Surely it was better to believe there had never been hope than to know there had been once, but now there was none.

She was worried for him. But Kiku was strong, so he'd be alright; as long as Ivan didn't go after him directly, that was. And she didn't have to tell the truth, right? As much as it hurt to lie to her brother, it was better than the alternative… And it wasn't like Kiku had regained everything, so she could keep it hidden a little longer.

But on the other hand, without the remaining knowledge, what could Kiku do?

Katyusha went to her desk and pulled out some parchment and a pen. At least she could give him a hint.

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Back… forth… back… forth…

Yao couldn't help but tug Kiku down to sit beside him on the bed. "Stop pacing! Just relax~aru!"

Kiku tensed for a second, then calmed just as quickly, sighing. "I can't! I'm going to be _King_ of _Aetsaias_, Yao! I haven't even _been_ there in _sixteen years_!" He swallowed hard, breath shuddering in his throat. "I can't be a King, Yao! I can't do it! I'm… I'm just a kid! I don't know the first thing about running a kingdom or-"

Yao gently rested a finger against his fiancé's—and that was weird to think about—lips. "If anyone can do it, you can. I have faith in you." Kiku shook his head silently, eyes glittering with unshed tears. "I'm right here, Kiku~aru. If you ever need help, you can just ask me; or Alfred, Matthew, Francis, Antonio… Hell, I bet even Lovino and Emil would help if you ask. You don't have to do this alone… my little prince." The boy started visibly at the old nickname. Yao chuckled. "Now then, if we're going to present you to the court, you're going to have to look your best. You do have a bath in here, right?"

Kiku nodded, going to stand. Yao simply tugged him back down with a laugh. "Yao, wh-what-"

"Well, I need a bath too~aru."

The prince flushed bright red. "Y-you mean- We should bathe together?!"

Yao hummed affirmatively, scooping the boy into his arms bridal style. "Come on, Kiku. Please~aru?" He pressed a kiss to the boy's cheek. Kiku sighed.

"O-okay, fine."

Yao grinned, placing his lovely fiancé back on the bed. "Wait here! I'll be back in a second~aru!"

He ran into the bathroom and set the warm water that had been placed there that morning to run, filling the bath as quick as he could. Yao then darted back into the main room, locked the door so no one could come in at the wrong time, and ran to the bed again, lifting Kiku into his arms and bringing him back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. He rested the boy lightly on the edge of the bath. Kiku blushed as the elder quickly stripped and slid into the water, gesturing encouragingly.

The boy stared at him. Yao rolled his eyes and turned away, forcing himself not to look as he heard the sound of rustling fabric. Kiku was so shy… It was adorable~! After a second, the prince slid into the water, humming happily at the warmth. Yao slid closer, pretending not to hear the boy squeak as he felt arms curve around his narrow waist.

Yao chuckled, pressing a light kiss against Kiku's neck. The boy whined, shifting away from him. "Yao… not now…"

"Hush," Yao hummed cheerily. "We won't have time to do anything once we've presented you to the others, so we have to do it now~aru."

"B-but-" Kiku was cut off by a sharp whimper as the elder bit down gently. "But, Yao-"

The lord pretended not to notice, allowing his lips and tongue to slide over the scars around his prince's neck. The boy froze, a faint almost-sob escaping his lips. "Y-Yao- D-don't-" When the man ignored him, he pushed weakly at the arms around his waist. "_Stop it!_" He nearly screamed the words, and Yao pulled away.

The boy was pale and shaking, eyes wide and far too bright. One hand rose to hover uncertainly by his chest, as though to push away any further advances. Tears were leaking silently down his too-white cheeks, though he didn't seem to notice. He sobbed, weakly, brokenly. "D-don't- Please, don't- I can't- I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just- please-"

Yao stared at him in shock. Kiku's eyes were distant, burning with a desperate terror that left him unable to do anything but mutter softly under his breath, anguished apologies and denials. The elder carefully reached out a hand, like approaching a frightened animal, and brushed it lightly through the boy's hair. He started, pulling away. "It's okay, Kiku… It's okay~aru… I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. Never~aru. Just… look at me, okay?"

Kiku blinked, and his eyes focused on Yao's. He leapt forward and buried his head against the elder's neck, racking sobs shaking his slender frame. Yao wrapped his arms around the boy, careful to avoid the scars, holding him close. "Shh… Shhh… You're alright. You're safe~aru. You're safe…" He gently lifted the boy from the water, wrapping a towel around them both and kneeling on the stone floor, adjusting Kiku to rest comfortably in his lap.

The prince just stayed there for a minute, crying against Yao's neck. And the man did his best to comfort the boy. "I'm sorry~aru," he murmured, stroking Kiku's black hair. "I'm so sorry…"

Eventually, the prince pulled away, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. Yao brushed a hand across his cheek and stood, grabbing their clothes from the floor and passing Kiku his. The boy smiled faintly and began getting dressed, Yao doing the same. He turned to look at his fiancé. "Kiku, when you were with Ivan…" He hesitated. Kiku looked up at him uncertainly. "Did he rape you~aru?"

The boy looked away. "I-it doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does~aru." Yao knelt beside him. "Please, Kiku. Tell me~aru. Did he rape you?"

Kiku didn't meet his eyes. "Yes," he whispered. "S-sometimes."

Yao's eyes narrowed. He'd expected it, but… to hear it… "That bastard~aru! That's it, he's *dead*!"

"Y-Yao, don't! I-it doesn't matter! Really, you don't have to-"

The older man shook his head. "Of course it matters~aru! He hurt you, and he's going to pay for it, even if I have to fight through an army to get to him!" Kiku stared up at him, shocked, and Yao's gaze softened. He gently shifted the boy back onto his lap. "I will do anything to keep you safe and happy~aru. No matter what the cost is. I love you, Kiku."

The boy's eyes widened, and he buried his face in Yao's chest. "Love you too."

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**Aw, babies. Aren't they cute?**

**Kiku: I hate you so much, you know that?**

**You know you love me. Anyways, that was really hard to write, so review, please? I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE I LOOK AT THE STATS FOR THIS STORY.**

**Also, what do you guys think of me doing a Halloween thing? It shouldn't interfere with this, since it'll just be a oneshot.**

**See ya~!**

**-Bird**


	10. Old Alliances

Old Alliances (Mean Nothing Now)

**Hey everyone! Agh, I'm dying… I have a really fucking awful cold, and I'm really out of it, so this is probably really incoherent… Sorry in advance. Disclaimer!**

**Yao: BirdSpell doesn't own Hetalia or The Hanging Tree. She does own the plot. Pity, that~aru.**

**You hush. And Ivan makes his appearance! You see? I said he would! I did! Also, warning: there is rape in this chapter. You've been warned, so don't sue me, or whatever it is people do when they haven't been warned of something. It probably fails anyway, as I've never written smut of any sort before. If it makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip over it. You won't miss anything important if you miss that section.**

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_"Suddenly, all of my  
>fences have broken;<br>I'm cutting the reins  
>on my life."<br>-Belinda Carlisle  
>Runaway Horses<em>

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"_Are you, are you coming to the tree,  
>where they strung up a man they say murdered three.<br>Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem,  
>if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.<em>

"_Are you, are you coming to the tree,  
>where the dead man called out for his love to flee.<br>Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it seem,  
>if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.<em>

"_Are you-_"

Kiku stirred, eyelids flickering, not quite willing to open. "Mm…"

"Good morning~aru."

"Morning…" The Assassin sat up, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Eight o' clock-ish?"

"Huh." Kiku swung his legs off the bed he couldn't remember getting into and stood, wandering over to Yao. "Weren't we going to go in front of the royal family yesterday?"

Yao shrugged, absently pulling Kiku to his side. "We were, but then shit happened~aru. And you fell asleep, and I didn't want to wake you up."

"How sweet of you," the eighteen year laughed happily. "But we should really get moving-"

"Do you really think that you can just go up to the Kings and _say_ you're heir of Aetsaias?"

They both spun around. "Emil! When did you get here?!"

The fifteen year old shrugged. "Five minutes ago, more or less." He stepped into the room, dragging Sadiq after him. Kiku frowned, then decided not to ask. "As I was saying, if you want to make them believe you, you'll need someone of high rank to vouch for you."

"Is that an offer?" Kiku asked, a faint smile touching his lips.

Emil smiled back- a proper smile, not his usual smirk. "What do you think?"

The four of them grinned at each other. "Well then, we should get moving~aru."

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The Kings of Dangeld looked confused.

They probably were. After all, a prince, 'manservant', bodyguard and Ambassador, all coming to talk to them together? A rare occurrence. Or so Kiku assumed.

Arthur cleared his throat. "So, what's this all about?"

Yao chuckled nervously. "Well, um, that is… Sadiq, why don't you start?"

"Me?" the Ambassador asked. "I'm only here because the kid dragged me with him."

Emil shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm just here to vouch for you."

Kiku sighed. "Honestly, all of you… Well, my lords… We—that is, Yao and I—were down in the library, and we found a book on the ancient lines of Kings, and, as it turns out-"

"Get on with it," Arthur sighed.

"…I… may possibly be the Lost Prince of Aetsaias," he finished in a rush.

"…_What?!_"

"It's true," Emil supplied cheerily. Sadiq nodded in agreement. "I checked."

Francis and Arthur just stared at the four of them for a minute. "Well, _mes amis_, that is… interesting, but is there any real proof?"

Kiku frowned. "Proof… Oh!" He pulled the gold-covered book from the inner pocket he'd concealed it in. "Does this count?"

Arthur leaned forward. "Sunspell… Also called the Book of Kings. It's said it can only be opened by the rightful ruler of Aetsaias…"

Kiku nodded in understanding, gently opening it to the first page. Arthur smiled faintly. "Well then, congratulations are in order… Your Highness."

Kiku and Yao shared a quick, gleeful glance. "We actually did it~aru!"

The prince laughed happily. Then he stopped. "Wait. Something's wrong-"

The explosion nearly destroyed the throne room. The Kings were thrown against the back wall. Sadiq dragged Emil just around the door frame, out of the explosion's path. Kiku and Yao fell through the newly opened hole to the floor below. Luckily, they landed on a bed. Not-so-luckily, it was Alfred's.

The prince frowned sleepily at them. "Yao? Kiku? Why is there a hole in my ceiling?"

A mad, terrifyingly familiar giggle made Kiku freeze. "No time! Get out of here, now!"

"But-"

"_Go!_"

He shoved the prince out of bed, just as his _former_ master dropped down. Alfred took one look at Ivan and darted for the door, yelling something about 'get out of here' and 'I need a sword'.

The King ignored him. "Hello, my little chrysanthemum."

Kiku didn't reply. He stepped back, slightly behind Yao. The older man moved forward in return, standing in front of him, shielding him. "Leave him alone, bastard!"

Ivan frowned. "Why? He's mine, after all."

"He doesn't belong to anyone~aru!"

The King looked between the two of them, confused. Then he smiled. "Oh, I get it~! You're in love, aren't you? He obviously hasn't told you the truth- isn't that right, my _Assassin_?"

Kiku cringed. _Damn, damn, damn!  
><em>  
>"Kiku, what-"<p>

Yao never finished his sentence; Ivan took advantage of the bodyguard's momentary distraction and attacked.

He struck quickly, hitting the Aetsaian in the gut and following up with a kick to the arm when he doubled over. There was a clearly audible _crack_, and Kiku's eyes widened. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

Ivan laughed. The bastard *laughed*. He pulled Yao over one shoulder. "If you want him, you have to come get him~!" He raised a fist.

Before Kiku could so much as think about moving, he was unconscious.

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"Nngh… What…" Kiku's eyes flickered open. It was too bright… It hurt…

_Yao._ Right. Get up. Get. Up.

He forced himself to sit up, one hand rising to touch his aching head. "Ow…"

_It… shouldn't be that bright. What-_ The book!

The Book of Kings was glowing. It stung his eyes- but only at first. Was the light getting dimmer, or… was he just adjusting to it?

He reached out and opened it to a random page. "Aural Magycks? Okay then…"

He turned the page. "Aural summons; Light Mirror. Being the Summons for the Magyckal Weapon that Personifies the Caster's Soul. Well, that sounds useful."

He read over the instructions. "That seems simple enough…" Kiku held out one hand, eyes shut. "_Hikari Mirā_."

For a second, his hand felt very hot, like it was about to catch fire. Then a weight settled into it, and Kiku opened his eyes.

The delicate hilt of a katana rested in his palm. It was worked into the shape of a griffin curling around the cross guard. A series of symbols were carved into the hilt: 光ミラー. The blade reflected the ceiling beautifully. "I guess that's why it's called mirror… But now that I have a sword, where's Yao?"

The blade of the sword gleamed a little brighter. The image… _changed_. Like an aerial view, going down the corridors, around corners, up staircases- "The roof!"

He ran, sliding the katana into a loop on his belt. _I can do this. I can do this._

Who was he kidding? Against Ivan, he didn't stand a chance. Not even with magic.

But he had to try. He'd help Yao or die trying.

Kiku slowed down as he came closer to the roof. It sounded… cold up there. An odd way of putting it, but it made sense. The strange not-quite silence when the ground was covered in snow and ice and everything was muffled and soft. A very pretty silence. And yet he hated it.

It was too perfect. Too soft. And it brought to the forefront of his mind images of death and hate and blood staining the snow.

The slender Assassin stepped out onto the roof, one hand grasping the sword at his waist. The other touched the cold stone of the battlements, and he moved to look out across the land. No sign of anything different; Ivan's appearance had most likely only effected the castle. He began to turn-

A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders, spinning him around and pressing his back against the stone. Lips pressed to his, cold, bruising, painful, stop it stop it-

Before he even thought, a leg came up on an effort to hit his assailant where it would _hurt_. The other merely laughed, knocking his leg away and slapping him across the face. Kiku blinked, stumbled back a pace, stunned.

"Don't try anything silly, my little chrysanthemum. If I'd known sending you here would make you so disobedient I'd have kept you with me, safe at home."

Kiku forced himself to stand tall, not cower, to draw the Light Mirror from his belt and hold it between himself and Ivan. "Safe? Safe?! Living in terror every day of my life is _safe_?!"

The King laughed at him, waving a hand condescendingly. "You're overreacting, my love. It wasn't that bad-"

The eighteen year old swung the sword. It cut the air with a whistle, slicing through the last few inches of Ivan's scarf with deadly ease. "Shut up!"

The King tsked. "Using magic doesn't give you the right to talk to me like that, little Kiku. Where did you even learn magic?"

"That's none of your business."

Ivan frowned. "It was that book, wasn't it? I should've destroyed it when I had the chance. But I never thought you'd actually try to use it even if you did find it." He stood, drawing his precious iron pipe from his coat. "Oh well. If I hit you hard enough you'll pass out, then I can get Kayusha to wipe your memory again. It'll be like this little incident never happened; just the four of us, together forever, hm?"

Kiku frowned. "You can't keep me unconscious long enough to get to Siarus."

"I don't have to," Ivan laughed. "Come out, Sister~!"

Katyusha stepped out of the shadows a few meters away. She met Kiku's eyes and burst into tears. "I'm sorry! If I'd been more careful-"

Ivan nodded. "My dear sister tried to send you a little hint about where that book was. But she didn't hide it well enough, so I found it! And then I knew I had to come here and bring you back before you did anything foolish! After all, no one can take care of Aetsaias like Siarus can."

Kiku glared at him, righteous fury suddenly filling him with a determination he'd never before felt. "That is for _me_ to decide. _I_ am King of Aetsaias, crown or no. Now tell me; where is Yao?"

Ivan glared at him. "I see now. That bastard has made you forget how much we love each other. He's over there, if you must know; but I've been telling him all about your job. Do you really think he wants you to help him now?" He jerked his head to where Yao sat, hands tied behind his back, mouth gagged. Kiku ducked under Ivan's arm and ran to him, untying the gag.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should've told you, I know, but-"

"Kiku." Yao's warm eyes met his. "I don't care that you're an Assassin. I wish you'd told me, but I understand why you didn't. You didn't have a choice~aru. It's okay. As long as you regret it, it's okay~aru."

Kiku smiled weakly. "You… really don't care?"

"Well, it's a bit of a shock, of course, and we'll have to talk later, but-" His eyes widened. "Kiku, behind you~aru!"

The younger turned, pulling the sword up in front of him. Ivan knocked it to the side, sending it clattering off the castle roof. Kiku tried to get up, get it before it fell too far, but Ivan merely punched him, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him crashing to the ground, coughing and gasping, struggling to drag air into his lungs.

"Kiku~aru!"

He forced his muscles to relax, allowing air to flood his system once more. He lay there, gasping, allowing his senses to come back fully-

Before he could so much as begin to struggle to his feet, he was dragged against the wall, feet not touching the ground, pinned in place by an arm across his chest, pressing hard, forcing his back into the stone. "Ah-!"

Ivan forced their lips together again. "Hush now, my little chrysanthemum," he murmured. "It's alright… I'm here…" His free hand drifted lower, down to Kiku's waist, lower-

Yao kicked out, hitting Ivan hard in the leg. The King dropped Kiku to the roof where he crumpled, gasping. Ivan growled, kicking Yao in the head and sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious. "Yao!"

Kiku tried to scramble to his fiancé's side, but Ivan snarled possessively, dragging him back to the wall by his hair. He called to Katyusha over his shoulder. "Get that damned prince and go home!"

"But, Ivan-"

"Now!"

Katyusha nodded, mouthing 'I'm sorry' to Kiku as she ran inside.

Ivan smiled, pressing Kiku firmly against the wall once more. "Now then, where were we?" His lips descended to the boy's neck, traveling down along it, causing goosebumps to spring up along their path. Kiku flushed, a shiver running along his spine. Ivan chuckled. "You always were so sensitive." He nibbled at the scars.

Kiku moaned against his will. "A-ah, stop… Stop it…"

The King giggled. "Don't talk now, little Kiku." He reached up to undo Kiku's coat, lips just touching the prince's collarbone. "We both know you enjoy this."

_No, I don't!_ He shivered again. Ivan's hands slid under his shirt, pushed it over his head and off. Hands brushed deceptively gently across the pale chest, lips returning to Kiku's own. The boy's lips were forced apart, a tongue sliding into his mouth. Kiku bit down, hard. Ivan slapped him so hard his head spun, his other hand pinching a nipple harshly. The boy whined.

Ivan forced him to lie down, chest resting on the stone, the older man's weight bearing down on him. "You never used to be this difficult," he hissed angrily. "You need to learn your place, little Kiku." One hand slid down his back, pinching his ass. The sharp pain made Kiku flinch, eyes sliding shut. Ivan pinched him again and he bucked, trying to break free however possible. He could feel something hard pressing against his backside.

Ivan's hands rose to his hemline, lifting his weight off Kiku for a second as he worked his pants off, raising a hand to magically shut and lock the door, almost as an afterthought. He stood, dragging Kiku to his knees. "You know what to do, my love."

The boy leaned forward hesitantly, lips brushing the tip of his master's cock. He kissed it, slowly took the head into his mouth, licked it. He stopped, unwilling. Ivan rolled his eyes, hands curling into Kiku's hair and yanking his head forward. He wailed, voice muffled by the dick in his mouth. He couldn't _breathe_.

Ivan pulled away, chuckling. "There now, my love. That's better, da?"

Kiku shook his head, stumbling back as far as he could with the King's hands in his hair. He couldn't- Couldn't think, couldn't breathe. It was just too much, especially now, when he'd just started to think he could escape this forever.

There was the sound of tearing fabric.

It _hurt_. He screamed, but he couldn't break free, couldn't fight. Kiku went limp; not fighting against it, but certainly not reciprocating. He simply lay there like a fish out of water, moaning involuntarily.

Ivan pulled out, reaching to put his pants back on. Kiku just lay there, shaking, completely exhausted. He turned his head to where Yao still lay unconscious, but he didn't have the energy to go to him. He simply closed his eyes and let himself fall into oblivion. Ivan smiled happily, scooping up the boy's clothes in one hand and Kiku in the other, teleporting them both back to Siarus Castle.

He didn't notice the delicate ring that slid off his Assassin's finger and bounced along the stone to lie next to Yao's hand.

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**Translations:**

_**Mes amis **_**(French): My friends**

_**Hikari Mirā**_**/****光ミラー ****(Japanese): Light Mirror**

**So, that happened. *laughs nervously* You're not gonna kill me now, are you?**

**Kiku: Yes.**

**I wasn't asking you! Yeah, that was really hard to write, so review? Please? I want to get at least five reviews for this chapter. Okay, I'm gonna go hide before Kiku murders me.**

**See you~!**

**-Bird**


	11. Broken

Broken (It's Not That Bad)

**Hello people! So, following last chapter, more shit is going down! And hopefully rescues get underway. Fingers crossed. The babies are refusing to do the disclaimer, so I don't own Hetalia.**

**This is late as fuck. Sorry. Yao and Kiku weren't cooperating.**

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_"Ah, la Luna la Luna,  
>the light that will<br>bring me back to you."  
>-Belinda Carlisle<br>La Luna_

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Alfred groaned as he woke. Damn, his head ached. "What the…?"

His hands were tied in front of him. Looking around, he saw damp stone walls and iron bars. A cell? "Where am I?"

"Siarus Castle."

"Gah!" Alfred spun around, eyes finding the figure standing by the cell door. "Kiku?! What are you doing here?!"

Kiku opened his mouth, but before he could speak, another figure entered the small patch of light. No one would ever be able to doubt who this was. "Isn't it obvious?" Ivan asked. "Helping me."

The tall man rested a hand on Kiku's shoulder. The eighteen year old flinched, eyes flickering shut. "Little Kiku has been working for me this whole time, isn't that right, my little chrysanthemum?"

A shudder ran along the boy's frame. Alfred moved as close to the bars as he could. "Kiku! What does he mean, you were working for him?" He stopped, gasped. "You- You bastard! You were a spy!"

Kiku shook his head. "I wasn't-"

Ivan pressed a hand over the boy's lips. "Not a spy, an _Assassin_. I sent him to kill you, but he was having trouble with it, so I decided to get involved~!"

Alfred glared at the boy. "When I get my hands on you… I can't believe I trusted you!"

The manservant- No, the _Assassin_, looked away. Ivan chuckled, leaning down to press his lips to Kiku's cheek. "Come along now, my dear."

Alfred stared in shock. Kiku… and Ivan?! What the fuck! What the actual fuck!

The prince threw himself against the bars, struggling to loosen the ropes around his wrists so he could _strangle the little fucker who'd had them fooled so long-_

Kiku stumbled away, turning so he wasn't looking into the cell anymore. Without another word, he stepped into the darkness and vanished again. Ivan chuckled, sickening-sweet. "He's so sensitive, isn't he~?" The King turned away. "Enjoy your time here, _Prince Alfred._ Honestly, it would've been better if Kiku had just killed you when I told him to. Ah well. I'll come back to check on you in a month, da? Have fun starving."

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He sobbed, pressing his head against the bathroom's cool tile floor.

This was his fault, he could've done something, told them, warned them, now Alfred was going to die and it was _all his fault_ and it hurt, it hurt so very very much and he could feel his heart breaking, shattering into a million, billion pieces and the burn of guilt in his chest and he felt sick, he couldn't _breathe_-

He retched.

A hand rubbed his back, brushing his hair away from his face as he vomited. "Shh, shhh, Kiku. Hush now… It's alright…"

Katyusha turned him around, grabbing a damp cloth from beside the sink and wiping the sick from around his lips, brushing a cool hand across his forehead, across his cheeks, cleaning the tears and sweat from his skin. "I know. I know. But it'll be alright, I know it will."

Kiku looked at the princess with dull, empty eyes. "If he dies, I'll cut my own throat. I swear I will."

Katyusha's eyes filled with tears. "Kiku, don't. There must be another way. Please, please, don't do this anymore! It's been two weeks, Kiku. You've barely eaten, you haven't slept- Don't do this to yourself! Please, Kiku, you have to stop!"

He couldn't breathe. "…hurts…"

She wrapped her strong arms around him. "I know, Kiku. But it won't stop hurting until you start taking care of yourself again! That prince is starving in those dungeons, he's barely given enough food to survive (still more than you, though)-" he flinched "-but you can't help him if you're half dead!"

He looked up, eyes miles and miles away from the cold bathroom, vision swimming madly. "Help… him…"

His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell still.

_Help him._

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Alfred paced along the cell, running his newly-untied hands along the bars. _Dammit! Heroes don't die in cells underground in Siarus; heroes don't die at all!_

"You're just going to wear yourself out faster doing that."

He spun, glaring at the—very well-endowed—princess who'd captured him. "What do you want?"

She held up a plate. "To help you." She shoved the food into his cell. "I'll get you out of here."

Alfred nodded his thanks, kneeling to eat. "Sweet!"

"But you have to do something for me in return."

He glanced up. "What?"

"Take Kiku with you." She held up a hand to stall his protests. "Please! I've never seen him happier than when Ivan watched him while he was in Dangeld. Being back here; it's _killing_ him! I'll do everything in my power to save you. Just take him with you."

Alfred frowned, considering. "He was in Dangeld to kill me. How can I trust he won't try again?"

Katyusha shook her head. "He won't betray you. I swear on my life and the lives of my family, he is on your side."

Alfred nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it."

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Yao turned the ring over in his fingers. _Kiku… Kiku, where are you?_

Matthew, beside him, stood and began to pace. "Where are they?! I mean, Siarus Castle, probably, but-"

Gilbert sighed. "Sit down, Birdie. You're not accomplishing anything by wearing a hole in the floor." He sounded tired. He probably was; he had been searching for any way to rescue Kiku—and Alfred, of course—all night. The two of them had been taking it in turns to spend the night searching and planning. After two weeks, they'd come up empty handed. "Obviously we need to get to Siarus Castle, ja? So I'll get in touch with my brother over in Sapin, and Prince Emil sends a letter to Fornirdivec, and we storm the place. Easy!"

"Yes, if we wanted to start a world war," Matthew murmured. "It doesn't work like that, Gil."

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't~aru!" Yao stood, dragging a hand through his untied brown hair. "And talking about the impossible isn't going to save Kiku, so we need to come up with a feasible plan already!"

Emil glanced up from where he and Sadiq had been muttering together. "Panicking isn't going to help either," he pointed out.

Yao sat down again. The prince was right, freaking out wouldn't help anyone. "There must be a way into that castle~aru. Has anyone here ever been there?" Everyone in the room shook their heads. "No, okay~aru. So, what, we just go and hope for the best?"

"Sounds like something Alfred would do," Francis murmured.

No one responded.

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In the end there wasn't really any other plan, so they went with trying to sneak in.

Yao hoped—prayed, more like—that Kiku had already escaped; but the proud creature he'd come to love and the broken child on the roof who'd suffered far too much in his life seemed too different for him to expect that.

Well, he did get to save his damsel in distress. That was a plus.

Gilbert, crouched beside him, sighed irritably. Yao chuckled. "Couldn't convince Prince Matthew to stay behind then~aru?"

"Oh shut up," the other replied eloquently.

Emil joined them, kneeling in the cold mud. "This shouldn't be too hard. Relatively speaking, of course. There's a drainage gate over there-" he pointed to the left wall, "-so we can get in through it."

"We have to crawl through sewage?! So unawesome…"

"Do you want to save Kiku and Alfred?" the prince shot back. "Yes? Then we don't have much choice. Come on."

Well, neither of them could argue with that.

"You agreed with Emil's plan, then?" Matthew fell into step alongside them. Gilbert frowned.

"Yao, kindly inform the prince that I'm not speaking to him."

Matthew sighed. "Really? Must you be so childish? And at a time like this, too…"

Yao shrugged.

"Tell the prince that I'll be as childish as I like."

"Honestly, Gil…"

"Both of you, grow up~aru…"

Emil clapped his hands suddenly. "You're all acting like children! Honestly, who's the youngest here? Are we going to save them or leave them to rot?"

The three older men shared a look. "He's right~aru. You're acting like children! Come on, I'm not going to let Kiku die here~aru!"

"Not Alfred, either," Matthew agreed. "He may be an idiot, but he's still my brother."

Gilbert sighed. "Okay… But you'd better not die or get captured or do anything stupid, Birdie."

The four of them turned towards the drainage gate. "I'm still not happy about this…"

"Suck it up~aru."

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Alfred had gone back to pacing after Princess Katyusha left. Well, why not? She'd said it would be a few days while Kiku recovered sufficiently to be able to help him in escaping, rather than just being dead weight. He frowned as the thought crossed his mind. When he'd seen Kiku last, the guy had been pale and tired-looking, but not enough for him to be useless in an escape attempt.

Then again, that had been two weeks ago… Who knew what had happened in that time?

"If… lucky… about…"

"Huh?" Alfred knelt, pressing his ear against the cold stone of his cell, shivering as it leeched the heat from his skin. As if he hadn't been cold enough as it was.

"…sure he'll… down here?"

"Matthew?" Alfred knocked uncertainly on the stone. "Bro, is that you?"

"Alfred?" came the distant response. "Gods, is it good to hear you! Are you alright?"

"Pretty much. Cold and hungry, but fine other than that. Where are you?"

"In the sewage tunnel~aru," a new voice said. "It's not pleasant."

"Yao? You came too?"

"Well, of course~aru. I couldn't just leave Kiku here, could I?"

"I only came because Bir- Matthew came," Gilbert's voice added.

"It'll piss off my brothers," Emil interjected. "Besides, couldn't let you two rot for all eternity. Keep talking, will you? We can use your voice to find the right… access point, shall we say."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Gilbert asked. There was a brief pause. "Oh _hell_ no. There is no way I'm crawling up a toilet!"

"Why not? You already smell like one~aru."

"Guys," Alfred sighed, "come on. Kinda starving to death slowly up here."

"Some hero you are," Emil muttered. There was a knock on the underside of the stone Alfred was kneeling on. "Are we under the right cell?"

"Yeah, you are."

There was some muffled movement and stifled complaints, then Gilbert stuck his head up from the hole in one corner of the cell. "Gross," he complained. "Why couldn't we find a better way in?"

"We don't have all day, Gil," came Matthew's reply. "Hurry up, will you?"

The Huntsman muttered something under his breath and began pulling himself out. Alfred went over to help him, but staggered back again. "Dude, you _stink_."

"This is the thanks I get for crawling through sewage to save you?" he griped, pulling himself up and reaching a hand down to help Matthew, who was followed by Emil, then Yao. Alfred wrinkled his nose.

"You guys know we'll get caught easily if you all smell like shit, right?"

The other four winced. "Didn't think of that," Emil muttered.

"Well, it's easy enough to fix," a new voice murmured from outside the cell. All five of them spun around to face her.

"Katyusha! Can you help, then?"

The princess frowned. "Well, I can try. Oh, I wasn't expecting them to find a way in so quickly…"

"You knew we were here~aru?"

Katyusha shook her head. "Kiku. He sensed you, somehow… I'm not sure how his magic works, so I can't tell you the specifics. The important thing is I knew you were coming. I didn't realize you'd get here so soon, though. Ah, it would've been so much easier if you'd gotten here a few days later. Or a week or so earlier. No sense complaining about it now, though." She waved a hand, murmuring something under her breath. "There. You're now invisible to the guards, and they won't smell you, either; though you should all take a bath once we get to my quarters. They'll hear you if you talk, though, so keep your mouths shut. And they'll feel it if you touch them." The princess unlocked the cell and let them out, closing the door behind them. "Hurry!"

They followed Katyusha along the quietest paths to her chambers. Upon arriving, the four rescuers bathed quickly and changed into clean clothes she'd somehow procured for them.

"Come on," she murmured. "I'll take you to Kiku, and I'll point you towards the exit, but you're on your own after that. I can't risk Ivan learning I've been helping you."

Alfred nodded. "You've done more than enough already. Thank you."

"How is Kiku anyways~aru?" Yao cut in.

Katyusha looked down for a second. "Not so well. I think…" She looked up, eyes filled with unshed tears. "I think he might be dying."

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Katyusha unlocked the door and slid into the small room. It was filled with instruments and weapons; an odd combination. A cot had been set up in the middle of the room, right beside an ebony piano with what looked like a wrist-mounted crossbow resting on top of it. The princess smiled sadly as she saw what they were looking at. "That was his pet project. He hasn't really worked on it since he… got back, but I've done my best to keep it clean, at least."

Gilbert stared at it. "That is one gorgeous piece of weaponry. How's it work?"

"No idea. He started working on it when he was… oh, thirteen? Fourteen? Something like that." Katyusha crouched beside the cot. "Kiki? You have visitors. Your friends have come to help you get out of here."

There was no answer from the figure huddled under the covers. Yao moved swiftly to kneel beside the princess. He gently brushed the blankets down just enough to pet messy black hair that fell into dark eyes; closed now, but Yao could still see the way they'd glowed with life. "Kiku? Kiku, it's me~aru. I've come to rescue you. I'm sorry it took so long~aru…"

"Why… are you… apologizing…?" Dark eyes slid open just a little, dull and tired, but brightening every second. "I… should be apologizing to you… I'm sorry I'm such a burden…"

Yao shook his head. "You're not a burden, Kiku. You'll never be a burden, no matter what happens~aru. Come on; let's go home."

The boy smiled faintly, sitting up and pulling a hand through his hair. "Yes. Let's."

"Oh, don't be so sure about that," a new voice added. Kiku sighed, eyes slipping closed again.

"Hello, Natalya."

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**Dun dun duuunnn!**

**What? We haven't had a proper cliffie in… oh, three, four chapters now? It was way overdue.**

**Kiku: Have I told you how much I despise you?**

**It's your punishment for being difficult. Now then, please, feel free to throw rocks at me via reviews. However, I do have a pet Assassin now, since Assassin's Creed Unity is out and I need something to tide me over to Christmas, when I will get it. Nothing like playing bloodthirsty video games during a holiday.**

**Also, new addition to the contest! First person to tell me where Kiku's pet project comes from gets a oneshot.**

**See ya~!**

**-Bird**


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